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‘Moon on the Meadow’ a dream come true
By Chris Fitzgerald
KP News
Gina Earl loves antiques, and
during all her years living in Tacoma, she collected
them. She is also a potter accomplished in hand-built
vessels and unusual finishes. Eventually her passions
outgrew her home, and after dreaming of owning a shop
for a decade, one day she just made a leap.
“If I don’t sell my house (in
Tacoma) and get going, it will never happen,” she told
herself. At the same time, while still working as a
grant writer for the MultiCare Health System, she began
to look for the perfect spot for her new life.
Earl found it in Burley, just next
to the Burley Grocery Store. Friends she’s known for 30
years who now live on the Burley Lagoon, Bob Christel
and Dewayne Grimes, had been looking at the building as
a potential restaurant, decided against that, and
mentioned it to Earl.
Gina Earl is surrounded by all sorts of
treasures at her new
store, Moon on the Meadow.
Photo by Mindi LaRose |
The building, zoned neighborhood
commercial, had been many things in its life, beginning
as a gas station in 1935; Earl couldn’t wait to
transform it once again. She was still working in Tacoma
when she first converted the garage into an espresso
stand, a transition phase that would eventually become
the shop she held in her imagination for so many years.
Then she became seriously ill, had heart surgery and her
dream seemed far beyond reach, both economically and
physically.
Christel and Grimes stepped
forward, purchased the property from her, then rented it
back to her. “We are comfortable being ‘hands on’
owners,” Grimes said. “This has been Gina’s dream for a
long time, and we want her to envision it as she sees it
evolving. She’s creating a stir among people who know
her.”
They see their decision as a way to
help preserve the location, and note that Gig Harbor
North is “creeping this way.” Although this round-about
way of establishing “Moon on the Meadow” definitely is
unusual, they all agree it has been an interesting
chapter in their long friendship.
Earl’s shop, and the house she
lives in next door with her two dogs and two cats, is
painted bright yellow; both have red roofs, and the
cheerful buildings can be seen from state Route 16.
Volunteers help Earl with tasks she cannot yet do; that
does not mean her enthusiasm for this new life has
diminished. “I’ve never lived in the country before,”
she says. “This little Burley area — it’s been here
forever and I couldn’t ask for better neighbors. I feel
like I’m actually part of a community.”
The shop is a cozy 750 or so square
feet, and features a main antique/art salon and a doll
room. An eclectic mix of Victorian furniture, Hummels
and Franklin Mint collector plates greets visitors,
along with art deco pieces and “One Hot Bag”
one-of-a-kind purses. Earl plans to attend auctions to
augment her stock of antiques and collectibles, and to
bring in more local art. She also accepts artwork on
consignment, and tries to make it affordable for artists
to show their work. She has featured collaborative
pastels by Ric Hall and Ron Schmitt, watercolors by
Donna Fredenburg, and her own Raku pottery.
At the back of the shop, behind a
door, is a small pottery kiln room. Earl accepts one or
two students at a time who are interested in learning
how to hand-build with clay; they work right in the
shop, among the antiques, overseen by her Yorkie,
Cinnamon.
“Moon on the Meadow” is located
at 14938 Bethel-Burley Road, and has generous open
hours.
©Copyright 2005-2008, Key Peninsula
News, all rights reserved.
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