Two local crafters have transformed their home-based side hustles into a brick-and-mortar creative studio, offering everything from balloon decorations and sewing lessons to custom prom dresses and children’s birthday parties.

• Sara Morrison, a Shalimar native who specializes in balloon designs and “fairy hair” services, and Codi Bailey, a home economics teacher at Meigs Middle School with 20 years of sewing experience, joined forces to create All Things Fancy.

The creative studio celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, April 5, drawing significant community support including multiple visits from Shalimar Mayor Mark Franks.

“It was very surreal,” Morrison said. “It was just a conversation that we were having and an idea. And then our husbands were like, ‘Yeah, you’re gonna do it.'”

Morrison began her creative journey making t-shirts before expanding to fairy hair and, about a year and a half ago, balloon designs. Bailey, who moved to the area three and a half years ago with her former military husband, has been teaching eighth-grade home economics at Meigs Middle School.

• “We really have gotten away from creativity in schools and hands-on learning,” said Bailey. “At All Things Fancy, we really want to bring that back and have a space where everybody can come and be creative.”

The women converted the space into their purple-painted studio, keeping the original walls, glass partitions and black ceiling while their husbands built custom shelving and tables.

“Everything in here is basically custom-made,” Morrison said. “The tables, we built it all from the ground up. We took it down to pretty much nothing.”

Bailey’s grandmother, who taught her to sew at age seven, surprised her by driving nine hours to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

• “She’s the one that taught me how to sew when I was seven years old,” Bailey said. “Really it was huge. It was a big deal.”

For Bailey, who relocated to the area about three and a half years ago with her former military husband, the community support has been especially encouraging.

“With me not being from here, seeing the support that we’ve gotten already has been super encouraging,” Bailey said.

The studio offers a wide range of services, including sewing lessons for all ages. Morrison’s son learned to sew rock pouches and proudly told his friends at school about his new skill.

• “His friends are like, ‘I wanna learn how to sew,'” Morrison said.

Bailey added, “Even using that as a practical skill, like if his pants rip one day, he has the confidence as an adult, maybe one day to put it on the machine to just stitch that up and then not have to go buy a new pair of pants.”

Morrison’s balloon arrangements incorporate a special formula that significantly extends their lifespan compared to typical helium balloons.

“This balloon was done literally two Fridays ago,” Morrison said, pointing to a still-floating balloon on the ceiling. “If you want to pick up on Thursday and your event is on Saturday, the balloon’s integrity is going to stay perfect.”

The venue also addresses what the owners see as a local need for children’s event spaces.

• “In this area, there’s not many places you can go for a birthday party,” Morrison said. “It’s the same few big spaces, or it has to be outside.”

Morrison added that children who attend events at All Things Fancy “all get to leave with something tangible,” not just memories.

The business also offers monthly balloon subscriptions for local businesses, with arrangements changed on the first of each month. Balloon delivery is available throughout the area, ranging from $10 for Shalimar and Fort Walton Beach to $20 for Destin deliveries.

Bailey offers alterations and custom garment creation, including prom dresses. “I had someone contact me yesterday through the website asking about custom embroidery,” she said. “Even though there’s not a specific listing, there’s a place where they can reach out for whatever they might want.”

The studio also features handmade items from local crafters, including earrings and art from The Painted Panhandle.

Upcoming events include a “bouquet bar” on Saturday, April 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., where Fort Walton Beach High School prom-goers and others can create custom floral arrangements.

• “It’s not just for prom attendees, but for anybody that wants to come and build their own flowers,” Morrison said.

Both women credit their husbands for championing their vision when they were hesitant to move forward.

“We drug our feet and initially said no to doing this,'” Morrison recalled. “Our husbands told us that we had a great idea and we needed to do it. And everybody that we talked to solidified that this was definitely something that we need in the community.”

Morrison, who previously operated her business from home for years, said finding the right business partner was crucial to making her longtime dream a reality.

• “We would sit at Crab Island on a summer day and talk about what we needed to do,'” Morrison said. “What took so long is I didn’t have somebody to do it with. I couldn’t do this on my own, until I met Codi.”

All Things Fancy is located at 1191 Eglin Parkway, Suite E, Shalimar. They are open until 6 p.m. on weekdays. For more information, visit their Facebook page or website to book classes and services.