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Less than a year after launching a retail operation in Mastic, Simple Little Detail, a custom woodworking and home decor business run by the husband and wife team of Danielle and Dan De Melfi, has nearly doubled its space and moved to Brookhaven hamlet.
Family and friends celebrated a grand re-opening on Friday at 426 S. Country Road, Suite 1.
Danielle De Melfi said it became particularly apparent that she needed a larger location in October 2019 — when boxes with items for the holiday season arrived at the 320-square-foot building she rented behind Hollywood Blvd. Hair Salon, where customers would come from Center Moriches, Manorville, Brookhaven and as far as Nassau County.
“We had no idea where to put boxes and it was rainy that day. So we had all these boxes outside and no room to start unpacking them. So we took them and put them in our storage room/bathroom,” she said. “So it was really hard to set the store up for the next season. There were boxes everywhere and people were trying to come in and I was like, ‘This is not working.’ I stayed a couple of late nights and we got it done.”
She added: “And then we started doing our Christmas sales and people were coming in with strollers and baby carrying seats and they weren’t able to walk around. People were coming in and seeing it was crowded and leaving — not even coming inside.”
Simply Little Detail’s new 600-square-foot space has an open floor plan with extra room to showcase some of the custom tables and chairs made by Dan De Melfi. It has 23 custom tables on order, as well as items such as end tables and chairs. The store produced 168 custom orders during the holiday season, including corn holes and chimes.
“The extra space is huge for people to be comfortable to walk around,” Dan De Melfi, 36, said Friday.
“You would think I would be nervous about going into a bigger place, but people feel more comfortable shopping local, and the customer service is a lot better,” said Danielle De Melfi, 38, of Mastic, who first made a name herself by hosting craft parties, which is still “the heart” of her overall business.
“It’s her and her husband doing this with two small babies at home,” said Amy Kelly, of Shirley, the retail operation’s manager who started working with the De Melfis in October. “She paints at home and even drives [products] to someone’s home.”
The new location will also have a host of nautical/coastal-themed items, tying it to the Bellport community. She also wants to add throw rugs, T-shirts and custom candles.
“The store has helped build the business for the custom orders,” De Melfi said. The new, more spacious location will allow the business to accommodate that growth.
