After more than 20 years in the interior and home design industry, Lisa Herendeen felt a call to start her own business. In September 2017 she opened Serendipity Designs & Decor at 1024 Lincoln Ave.
“I just felt the push to do this for a while, and I kept resisting,” says Herendeen. “I finally relented and it all came together.”
The boutique offers everything needed to decorate a home from furniture and tableware to window treatments and décor pieces. Serendipity also offers shoppers ideas by creating a homelike environment to display goods and shows off Herendeen’s years of expertise in home design.
“I wanted to have a setting that was more like a home,” she says. “Even though it may not be someone’s style, it gives them inspiration. It gives them confidence you know what you’re doing if you’re going to be the one helping them.”
Along with gifts and home accessories, Serendipity also offers residential and commercial interior design, gift baskets and bereavement gifts with delivery to local hospitals and funeral homes, and custom fabric services for upholstery and window treatments. Herendeen also loves to use Serendipity to promote local artisans and makers, like The Confectionery Sweet Soap and Sweet Schmitt’s Candy.
“I want people to come to me and find something here they’re not going find anywhere else,” she says. “We use local seamstresses. Window treatments, custom bedding, and pillows are made right here whenever possible.”
The shop also has an assortment of authentic Polish pottery — something Herendeen hasn’t seen offered elsewhere in Evansville. While she strives to keep the store’s inventory and services unique, she also follows advice given to her when she first began buying for Serendipity.
“I remember the first time I went to market to buy for Serendipity I met a woman,” says Herendeen. “She actually started her business and was the same age as me when I started and had been working at it for 25 years. She said if you don’t love it, don’t buy it. And that’s how I purchase whether it’s gifts or accessories or furniture.”
House and Home
serendipitydesignsanddecor.com • 812-250-4448
