A Sweet Tea Interiors T-shirt displays the variety of services offered by the new business.Signal Mountain resident Beth Adkins, along with her daughter Jenny Walker and soon-to-be sister-in-law Casi Helms, are utilizing their collective experience in the estate sales, antiques, event planning, interior design and home staging businesses in their new venture, Sweet Tea Interiors.
The business offers estate and moving sales, and also assists clients with downsizing, said Helms, a resident of Hixson.
“For example, I have a neighbor who is ready to downsize,” she said. “She doesn’t have enough for an estate sale, but there’s plenty for a one-day sale.”
Walker said one reason they chose to call the business “Sweet Tea Interiors” rather than “Sweet Tea Estate Sales” was to emphasize that the variety of services offered extends beyond just estate sales.
“Plus, sweet tea has a warm, charming Southern flair,” said Helms. “Who doesn’t love sweet tea?”
Clients ready to move from their current homes that still need to be sold can leave a few pieces behind for Sweet Tea to stage, said Adkins, who has a background in interior design and home décor. She also had a booth at Greenbriar Antique Merchants in East Ridge, and continues to offer her furniture painting and refurbishing services through Sweet Tea.
“The fact that we have interior design and the staging of antique booths in our backgrounds is something that really sets us apart,” said Helms. “We don’t think you can put things out on a table and have it do as well as it would if it was staged; it just markets better.”
Their experience also gives them the knowledge to price items so they’ll sell, she said. As opposed to the common practice of marking items’ prices up the first day of a sale so the seller can make more when prices are discounted the following day, Helms said items are priced reasonably from the beginning to avoid the need for a second sale day. Adkins noted that to price items such as art and jewelry, Sweet Tea brings in experts in those areas.
“Not only do we bring experience, but we’re also very friendly and personable,” said Helms.
Adkins said Sweet Tea’s clients are often people who have just experienced the death of a parent, which can be very traumatic.
“We try to make the transition as easy as possible and try to be as respectful as possible,” Helms added.
Sweet Tea Interiors can be reached by calling Adkins at 605-5615 or emailing sweetteainteriors@gmail.com. The business announces sales through estatesales.net, the Chattanooga Times Free Press, chattanooga.craigslist.org and facebook.com/sweetteainteriors.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.