A move right down the street has given Cabell’s Designs a new excitement for what’s next.
Cabell Sweeney remembers the countless days she and Ellie Mahon spent looking in the windows of the now Swift and Finch building, dreaming of what could be. The two were friends through Young Life and had a dream to bring Ellie’s desire to start a coffee shop and Cabell’s ceramics studio together in Rome.
Cabell’s love for designing pottery started with a wedding gift. Her mother knew that she wouldn’t want to be given just any dinnerware, so she gifted Cabell a bare set of plates and paints. After seeing her work, friends and family were eager to have Cabell make pieces for their own homes, which led her to start her own business.
Once Swift and Finch’s wholesale business grew, they needed the extra space to roast their coffee, leaving Cabell’s Designs on the hunt for a new studio.
“We knew we were going to be okay, but we had no idea where we were going to go,” Cabell states. Despite the unknowns, she was excited for the potential of a new, larger studio that would give her space to grow.
Cabell and her coworker, Chelsea Riley, found themselves walking up and down 5th and Broad, knocking on doors and peeking in windows. They suddenly found themselves on Bale Street, looking at what is now their new studio.
“We walked past this place and immediately wanted to know what the deal was with it,” Riley says.
And the two did just that. They started asking around to figure out who owned the building and showed up at his office unannounced that same day to ask about 9 Bale Street.
“That is so my personality: jump, then look. But once we were there, I realized how presumptuous it was of me to show up to someone’s office without asking,” Cabell states.
Though it’s not completely finished, the new studio has already given the two new dreams and ideas for the future of Cabell’s Designs. From opening a storefront to starting a gift registry option for customers, Bale Street has sparked many aspirations for this pair.
“Had we found somewhere on Broad or 5th, we wouldn’t have been able to put our stamp on it like we did,” Cabell adds. “This studio is a declaration of who we are, and that has been more than we could’ve ever dreamed of.”
Visit Cabell’s Designs at:
9 Bale Street Rome, Ga 30161
