Interview with Stephany (Stephy) Sanabria, owner/designer of DecoStephy, an event planning/decorating company, which opened this past December at 307 E Dover St.
EEDC: Explain what DecoStephy does?
Stephany Sanabria (SS): Our team creates personalized decorations for weddings, birthdays, baby and bridal showers, graduations, etc. We give your family party or corporate event a personal identity by helping to design everything from invitations to posters to balloons, flowers, or candy decorations. We also help our customers get custom gifts and present them in a special unique way. I love to do this kind of work. I like to be part of their happiness when they see what I can do.
EEDC: There is nothing quite like your store here in Easton. How did you get started?
SS: I had a similar business in Spain, where I’m from. My family used to do catering and event planning, so I’ve been doing this since I was a child. My mom even had me take fine arts classes when I was around 4-5 years old. I also had an aunt who had a stone marble business, and I learned to work with marble. Then, I spent about a year in France learning and working as an interior decorator. So I’ve had a lot of experience in this field.
EEDC: How did you end up in Easton?
SS: When I married my husband. He is from Guatemala but grew up here, and I met him when he visited Barcelona almost seven years ago. I was his tour guide. We started talking and developed a friendship.
EEDC: So you moved here and decided to start DecoStephy?
SS: Not quite. I got certified and licensed as a dental assistant and worked as one, but I was still doing party planning on the side because that’s my real love. But even when working on something else, I continued studying and kept expanding my inventory. So much so that I ended up with three full storage units. Then in March of 2020, I got COVID and ended up in the hospital, and that made all the difference. I thought I had recovered, but by August, I started feeling really, really bad and was in the hospital again. The doctor walked in with a scary face, and I knew it was bad news. They told me I had blood clots in my lungs. It was bad. So I prayed and asked God if he gave me another opportunity that I would start doing what I love to do because I realized that life is better when you do what brings you passion.
Recovery was really long and difficult, but by January of last year, I told my husband I needed to start looking at how I could open up my store. A friend told me about the SCORE program (NOTE: Service Corp of Retired Executives– a network of volunteer, business expert mentors), and I began working with Mr. Ed French. He helped me develop a business plan and continued to help me with advice. He was like an angel to me.
I also had assistance from Maryland Capital Enterprises and the Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center. They helped me get a loan after I was told I didn’t qualify for one since I needed to be in business for two years.
EEDC: It seems like you experienced difficulties finding out where to go and what to do. With English not being your first language, it must have been very challenging.
SS: Yes, which is why I will be helping other women open up their businesses. Sometimes, people are afraid or don’t know where to look for the information, or you need someone to give you some encouragement to say things like, ‘Hey, you can do that.’ Once you have some experience, it’s important to pass that on to others and help them be successful.
When I was going through this, I found that there were both good people who were there for you and not so good people who didn’t always give me the best advice. I don’t want to be that person who discourages others. In Spanish, we have a saying: El sol sale para todos–the sun rises for everyone—and I believe that you can and should work with others. Be creative, work together, make new products, create new teams. That’s life.
EEDC: And now here you are, with a store in Easton!
SS: I looked around for the right fit. At first, I tried to find something closer to downtown Easton, but that was really expensive. Then someone told me I should consider this area around Dover street. Eventually, I found this location, across from Rude Burger. This place is good for the space. I love the brick walls, the light, and the tall ceilings that help me work with different types of decorations. I can play with this space.
Of course, I love our town. I love walking around Easton and seeing all the various beautiful views. Being part of the community is important to me. I got to participate in the Festival of Trees and with Talbot Interfaith Shelter at Hummingbird Inn for their Home for the Holidays fundraiser. I’m also going to be working with the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center.
I enjoy being able to use my talent to help others. I’ve also found that people here are artistic and genuinely appreciate arts and crafts.
EEDC: What plans do you have for your company?
SS: Besides my decorating jobs? My goal right now is to use this space for small private parties of 12-15 people. We will provide the tables, chairs, and decorations. We even have a small kitchen. I mentioned how I believe in supporting other artists. If you look around my shop, you will find greeting cards and other crafts done by talented friends. I want to be able to continue to do that.
I’m also starting to do classes in April. Some will be my own, but I also want to have other artists teach here as well (Note: see list at end of this interview). Besides the scheduled ones, I can also do classes for a private group or a private party.
I mentioned how I believe in supporting other artists. If you look around my shop, you will find greeting cards and other crafts done by talented friends. I want to be able to continue to do that.
EEDC: You have many talents. What’s your favorite creative thing to do?
SS: I really like working with flowers. I also enjoy creating with balloons, which take a little longer to do, but they look so good. When people see either flowers or balloons, their faces take on a happy look. I also like to make Candy Cakes. These are very popular in Spain, and it’s something I’m comfortable working with.
I hold certifications in all forms of decorations from various schools and programs. Right now, I’m finishing up one in flower arrangement from the well-known designer Alexander Sanchez, who is known as El Mago de la Flores (Note: Flower Wizard). These courses have given me the confidence in my abilities and have helped me create even better designs.
EEDC: Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?
SS: English is not my first language, but I try to understand what people want and help them by using my skills. If I can’t help them, I have friends who do other types of decorating that I can send them to. Basically, I like to make people happy. There is so much negativity out there–more negative than positive, for sure. So if I can be the type of person who can bring people some kind of happiness or help them feel positive things, I will do that. It’s not only nice, but for me, it’s really important.
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Here is a list of currently scheduled classes:
Decorating with Spring Florals: April 15, 6:00 pm and April 16, 2:00 pm
Preparing a Gift for Mom: April 29, 6 pm
Art Class with Mom: May 6, 5:30 pm
Art Class with Dad: June 18, 2:30 pm
Decorating for Independence Day: June 25, 5:30 pm
For additional information go to: https://www.decostephy.com
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