LIVE OAK - Michelle Marlow and Sheri Larkin never expected a fire would shut down their shop, Tattered Treasures, three weeks after opening but they say the setback is only temporary.
"In a couple months, we'll have another grand opening," Marlow promised Monday, watching crews from Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling box up a chandelier and other smoke-damaged merchandise for treatment in San Jose.
"Hopefully people will be patient," said Larkin.
Marlow, 49, of Santa Cruz, and Larkin, 54, of Scotts Valley, opened the shop at 650 Capitola Road at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Capitola Road on Nov. 19. The business was so new they hadn't even put up a new sign outside to replace one for Ana's Flowers, the former tenant.
Marlow had four-and-a-half years experience at Ivy's Porch, a home decor retail cooperative in Scotts Valley and Larkin three. They joined forces in August.
Their specialty: "Shabby chic cottage style," mixing vintage furniture with new pieces from trade shows.
"It's what I love to do," said Marlow, who spent seven years in an antiques shop in Monterey and was counting on the Santa Cruz shop to provide for her family.
The two women painted furniture white or pale pink, hung mirrors, decorated Christmas trees with ornaments and set up displays of candles and soap.
Now it all smells like smoke. The walls are gray, and so is the furniture. The partition that Larkin's husband Rob built in the back is charred. A huge pile of stuff appears unsalvageable.
Central Fire spokesman Mike DeMars attributed the damage to a space heater near the back of the shop that came in contact with flammable material.
It had probably been smoldering for a few hours, De Mars said.
The amount of damages is not yet known.
"It was smoldering or something shorted in the night," said Marlow. "Everything's damaged."
She pointed to an area behind the counter where a vintage buffet with an oval mirror once stood.
Nothing is there now.
"It disintegrated," she said. "I am still in shock. Our beautiful store that we got so many compliments on..."
The Christmas presents she bought for three of her four daughters, ages 23, 17 and 7, are gone, too.
She had kept the gifts in the back of the shop so her children wouldn't find them. She hadn't finished shopping for her 21-year-old, who is living out of the area with her dad.
Ironically, Marlow often speaks about overcoming adversity. She's been through divorce, gone back to college - she's one semester from an associate's degree at Cabrillo - and dealt with a diagnosis of leukemia for one of her daughters.
"God thought I'd be strong enough to handle all these trials," she said, adding that her 17-year-old is scheduled for surgery today.
Landlord Donna Rodoni said she bought Marlow and Larkin space heaters because the gas heater had been removed.
"They put their heart and soul into it, working all hours," Rodoni said. "It came as quite a surprise. It's an example of why insurance is so important."
The clerk working at Harbor Liquors, which shares a wall with Tattered Treasures, smelled smoke at 8:40 a.m. Saturday as he was opening up. He found the windows in the antique shop were black and the inside filled with smoke and called 911.
Firefighters found a small fire behind a desk in the rear of the room and put it out.
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