By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A Beaufort teacher is following her dream to launch her own home décor business, despite having recently been diagnosed with cancer.
After quickly rallying friends, family and members of the community to help, Karen McKinley plans to hold the grand opening of her storefront, Haus Elise, on Friday, March 29, in Habersham.
McKinley has been a special education teacher at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy for several years and intended to retire at the end of this year.
Having always garnered a love for interior design and home remodeling, McKinley signed a lease and had already begun planning her next big adventure in life – owning a store in the Marketplace of Habersham, where she can sell antique furniture that she had refurbished herself along with other vintage décor items.
But shortly after signing the lease on her storefront that she had planned to open during the summer, she was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer.
Despite the uncertainty of her battle, McKinley remains resolute in her dreams to open this store and keep it open as often and for as long as she can.
McKinley, who is a mother of six children and has lived all over the world, is no stranger to challenges, and said that she thinks that having a goal is helping her to get through the pain and fear she feels due to the cancer.
Five percent of all sales from Haus Elise will be donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Network, a non-profit cause that is close to McKinley’s heart, especially as she embarks on both her journey with chemotherapy to try and shrink her tumor and store ownership at the same time.
The grand opening will last from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, March 29, at 3A Market in Habersham.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
