Harbor Village Store Finds New Location Online

After years of being motionless in the brick and mortar framework, local business has launched an online store to reach a global audience.

After closing their store at the Shoppes at Harbor Village earlier this summer, the eco-friendly store carrying high-quality Asian furniture, housewares, jewelry and more brought their merchandise to the web after three years of planning.

“My husband and I loved the shop when we first opened it. Our idea was to make the shop beautiful,” said Sung Lee, Sense of Peace owner-turned-merchandiser at senseofpeace.com. “We wanted to create the same feel with our online website.”

Senseofpeace.com was launched in late July by a team led by CEO Yunie Doran.

“We’re looking for unique things, one of a kind things, that people cannot find anywhere else,” Doran said of the products at Sense of Peace.com.

The store strives to bring environmentally friendly products to their customers.

Many of their items are designed to evoke serenity and a sense of alm, along with a style influenced by Eastern cultures, Lee said.

The new mode of shopping is also meant to promote relaxation.

“We really trained ourselves to be open seven days a week,” Lee said. “Online people shop at their leisure and it makes it more convenient for them.”

However, the process of transitioning to the web has not been the easiest experience.

“It’s been a long, long process,” Doran said.

Though the development of the website has taken approximately three years, the closing of the shop in Harbor Village enabled the company was able to dedicate their energy to the website.

Before launching, the website had to iron out some technical glitches, which didn't seem to faze Lee. “That’s to be expected when changing from a brick and mortar business,” she said.

Lee said there is less freedom to discount items online due to different protocols among suppliers.

“If you don’t carry a good amount of inventory, you can’t discount them,” Lee said. “Some companies don’t allow you to put their products online at all.”

Customers must also transition to the new format of shopping, Doran said.

“We know people can’t come to the store and feel the products,” she said. “We’re trying to figure out a way to present it.”

The site itself hones in the peaceful tranquility that was the hallmark of the physical store. Designed by web developer Leia Doran, the graphics of the new site evoke similar emotions.

“She’s very, very talented,” Lee said.

Each week, the site expects to add new items, Yunie Dorian said, while each month, a new artist will be showcased.

“We want the same kind of store that will reach more people,” Yunie Doran said.

Because of the store's transition online, friends and family in other countries are able to see the products for sale at Sense of Peace, as well as offer a larger variety of merchandise to a wider audience.

Sales and discounts will still be offered to local customers. Until the end of August, Sense of Peace will pay the sales tax of local customers as well as offering free shipping for purchases over $50.

Though changes are on the horizon, Lee said she will still offer her famous gift wrapping on request, and that the mission of Sense of Peace remains the same.

“I just want simply beautiful things,” she said.

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