Mark August owners Corinne Blakeney and Liz Schenke. KIM RODERIQUES/CHATHAM LIVING BY THE SEA MAGAZINE

Mark August on Main Street, Chatham offers “something for everybody,” says co-owner Corinne Blakeney. “We really try very hard to keep our jewelry lines very contemporary and very affordable.”

The store is commemorating its 30th anniversary in business on Saturday, June 18 with a 20 percent off sale and a trunk sale.

Mark August was established in 1992 by Mark West and Steve DeLeonardis. West and DeLeonardis christened the store with one of their first names — Mark — and the birth month of the other — August. Blakeney began working in the store in 1995; her partner Liz Schenke was already employed there. In August 2004, 12 years after the store opened, West sold the business to the two women.

“They launched us,” Blakeney says. “We kept it and loved it and it’s our baby. We’re hoping for another 10 years here.” Blakeney says she and Schenke remain grateful to the store’s founders.

Mark August specializes in contemporary jewelry from designers such as Chan Luu, Original Hardware and Anna Beck, as well as modern home décor. It’s a go-to place for hostess and other types of gifts.

Blakeney says she and Schenke have similar tastes in merchandise and agree on what the store should stock “like a married couple.” They carry items that they personally like, and have cultivated long-standing relationships with their jewelers. They strive to sell items you can’t find elsewhere in Chatham. For example, they do not carry fine jewelry, leaving that to other Main Street businesses.

“We try to stay exclusive enough that we’re not stepping on any of our neighbors’ toes,” Blakeney says.

Blakeney grew up in Concord and moved with her family to Chatham, where she had vacationed, when her children were three and five.

“I raised my kids in Chatham and I just stuck around,” she says. She taught at Chatham Elementary, retiring in 2012. In her early days at Mark August, she was employed in the summers making the Mark August line of jewelry. Schenke, in contrast, grew up in Chatham. Mark August was a seasonal store until 1998, when it became a year-round operation. While Blakeney and Schenke attend some trade shows, they now also order their merchandise online. Personal attention to customers, “what sets the small-town shopping experience apart,” is one of the store’s hallmarks.

These days the content of the shop is about 60 percent home décor items and 40 percent jewelry, Blakeney estimates. The website was launched during the COVID shutdowns of 2020, when the store closed for three months, and many of the store’s items can now be purchased online.

In the category of home décor are original paintings by Amy Middleton of Chatham, who also works at the shop in the summer; Whitney Heavey of Chatham and Jan Sidebotham of Harwich. While Middleton paints six-by-six canvases depicting tomatoes, lemons and other fruits glowing with bold colors, she also has a line of floral paintings in slightly more pastel colors. Heavey works in oil on larger canvases, 18-by-24-inches, and specializes in paintings showing beach, water, sky and clouds. Her oil painting “All Together” depicts colorful rowboats. Sidebotham also paints in oil. “Sort of Salt Boxy” depicts a cottage with a salt box-type shape.

While Blakeney and Schenke are always looking for new merchandise, they also stock customer favorites. The 12-inch celebration bowl, for example, a monogrammed glass bowl, is a “great gift for marrying couples” and for anniversaries, Blakeney says.

The store offers an array of gifts for the home in its nicely-appointed store with wooden showcases for jewelry. A tall case of Skagen watches from Denmark is prominent.

Featured online is a gorgeous selection of wine and martini glasses. Cottage Wine Glasses come in beautiful colors; honeycomb stemless wine glasses and honeycomb wine glasses have a pattern of a honeycomb at the base. There are colorful Merritt melamine serving bowls, trays, dipping and sauce bowls and tumblers. Cottage Rock Lamps have a stem made of rocks. There are ceramic vases and drinking glasses printed with sharks. A Design Ideas White Frost Regatta Candle Holder holds a tealight and is priced between $12 and $20, depending on its size.

Artist Carol Joannidi of Little Cat Metals in Holyoke, who Blakeney and Schenke met at the Festival of the Arts in Chase Park a few summers ago, will be the featured artist for the trunk sale.

Joannidi creates hand-fabricated designs using only traditional metalsmithing techniques. She uses North American recycled sterling silver and gold with ethically-sourced stones that minimize their harm to the environment, according to her website. Her designs are lightweight and durable and inspired by nature, math and science, and stress positive and negative spaces. Some of her pieces currently in the store are “Bollywood Earrings,” “Palms Earrings,” and “Winter Fern Necklace.” Also in the line are rings in aqua, green and gray druzy quartz, and aquamarine and chalcedony.

The June 18 celebration of Mark August’s 30-year anniversary will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the Little Cat Metals trunk show and a 20 percent storewide sale that excludes artwork. The store is at 490 Main St. in Chatham. Visit www.markaugust.com for more information.

Mark August on Main Street, Chatham offers “something for everybody,” says co-owner Corinne Blakeney. “We really try very hard to keep our jewelry lines very contemporary and very affordable.”The store is commemorating its 30th anniversary in business on Saturday, June 18 with a 20 percent off sale and a trunk sale.Mark August was established in 1992 by Mark West and Steve DeLeonardis. West and DeLeonardis christened the store with one of their first names — Mark — and the birth month of the other — August. Blakeney began working in the store in 1995; her partner Liz Schenke was already employed there. In August 2004, 12 years after the store opened, West sold the business to the two women.“They launched us,” Blakeney says. “We kept it and loved it and it’s our baby. We’re hoping for another 10 years here.” Blakeney says she and Schenke remain grateful to the store’s founders.Mark August specializes in contemporary jewelry from designers such as Chan Luu, Original Hardware and Anna Beck, as well as modern home décor. It’s a go-to place for hostess and other types of gifts.Blakeney says she and Schenke have similar tastes in merchandise and agree on what the store should stock “like a married couple.” They carry items that they personally like, and have cultivated long-standing relationships with their jewelers. They strive to sell items you can’t find elsewhere in Chatham. For example, they do not carry fine jewelry, leaving that to other Main Street businesses.“We try to stay exclusive enough that we’re not stepping on any of our neighbors’ toes,” Blakeney says.Blakeney grew up in Concord and moved with her family to Chatham, where she had vacationed, when her children were three and five.“I raised my kids in Chatham and I just stuck around,” she says. She taught at Chatham Elementary, retiring in 2012. In her early days at Mark August, she was employed in the summers making the Mark August line of jewelry. Schenke, in contrast, grew up in Chatham. Mark August was a seasonal store until 1998, when it became a year-round operation. While Blakeney and Schenke attend some trade shows, they now also order their merchandise online. Personal attention to customers, “what sets the small-town shopping experience apart,” is one of the store’s hallmarks.These days the content of the shop is about 60 percent home décor items and 40 percent jewelry, Blakeney estimates. The website was launched during the COVID shutdowns of 2020, when the store closed for three months, and many of the store’s items can now be purchased online.In the category of home décor are original paintings by Amy Middleton of Chatham, who also works at the shop in the summer; Whitney Heavey of Chatham and Jan Sidebotham of Harwich. While Middleton paints six-by-six canvases depicting tomatoes, lemons and other fruits glowing with bold colors, she also has a line of floral paintings in slightly more pastel colors. Heavey works in oil on larger canvases, 18-by-24-inches, and specializes in paintings showing beach, water, sky and clouds. Her oil painting “All Together” depicts colorful rowboats. Sidebotham also paints in oil. “Sort of Salt Boxy” depicts a cottage with a salt box-type shape.While Blakeney and Schenke are always looking for new merchandise, they also stock customer favorites. The 12-inch celebration bowl, for example, a monogrammed glass bowl, is a “great gift for marrying couples” and for anniversaries, Blakeney says.The store offers an array of gifts for the home in its nicely-appointed store with wooden showcases for jewelry. A tall case of Skagen watches from Denmark is prominent.Featured online is a gorgeous selection of wine and martini glasses. Cottage Wine Glasses come in beautiful colors; honeycomb stemless wine glasses and honeycomb wine glasses have a pattern of a honeycomb at the base. There are colorful Merritt melamine serving bowls, trays, dipping and sauce bowls and tumblers. Cottage Rock Lamps have a stem made of rocks. There are ceramic vases and drinking glasses printed with sharks. A Design Ideas White Frost Regatta Candle Holder holds a tealight and is priced between $12 and $20, depending on its size.Artist Carol Joannidi of Little Cat Metals in Holyoke, who Blakeney and Schenke met at the Festival of the Arts in Chase Park a few summers ago, will be the featured artist for the trunk sale.Joannidi creates hand-fabricated designs using only traditional metalsmithing techniques. She uses North American recycled sterling silver and gold with ethically-sourced stones that minimize their harm to the environment, according to her website. Her designs are lightweight and durable and inspired by nature, math and science, and stress positive and negative spaces. Some of her pieces currently in the store are “Bollywood Earrings,” “Palms Earrings,” and “Winter Fern Necklace.” Also in the line are rings in aqua, green and gray druzy quartz, and aquamarine and chalcedony.The June 18 celebration of Mark August’s 30-year anniversary will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the Little Cat Metals trunk show and a 20 percent storewide sale that excludes artwork. The store is at 490 Main St. in Chatham. Visit www.markaugust.com for more information.

Who is who?  Two sets of the Frank Twins (Jerry and Jeff) at a Squire Halloween Party, 1990s. Courtesy Photo

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