KNOXVILLE — Scott Schimmel and Lisa Sorensen of both Bliss and Tori Mason Shoes announce a planned move from 24 and 29 Market Square to a new location on Gay Street. Bliss opened at its current location in 2003, making it one of the oldest retail businesses currently operating on Market Square.
Tori Mason Shoes opened just under a year ago due to an expanding shoe department within Bliss. Scott Schimmel and Lisa Sorensen's Bliss Home brand currently has locations in west Knoxville, Nashville and a location in Louisville, KY scheduled to open July 2017.
The new location will be in the Miller's Building at 445 Gay Street and will combine both Bliss and Tori Mason Shoes. The move will increase the total square footage of retail to 6,500 square feet from the existing 4,600 square feet.
"While we will miss Market Square, we are looking forward to this new opportunity. Gay Street has continued to change over the years and we are excited to be part of the continuing growth of retail there,” says Scott Schimmel.
Bliss and Tori Mason Shoes will continue to be open in their current Market Square locations until the new location is complete. Anticipated occupancy is Fall 2017. Excitement is building over the larger space and more opportunity to retail trending boutique styles and fashionable shoes to Knoxville and beyond.
The couple opened the first of the Bliss stores in 2003 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Since then, the company has grown into a downtown Knoxville mainstay. They have two stores in downtown Knoxville: Bliss, which is their clothing and gift store and Tori Mason shoes, which embodies the spirit of Bliss, by offering shoe devotees an alternative to the standard retail experience. Bliss Home opened in west Knoxville in 2008. The entrepreneurs expanded in 2014 by opening Bliss Home near downtown Nashville. The third location of Bliss Home is scheduled to open in Louisville, KY in July 2017.
Schimmel and Sorensen won the Rising Star award from the Tennessee Small Business Center in November 2013. Since it's inception, Bliss and Bliss Home have been recognized as Best Store, Best Furniture, Best Gift Store and Best Women's Clothing Store by the Metro Pulse Reader's Poll.
Bliss and Bliss Home were also voted a Knoxville favorite in the 2012 Knoxville News Sentinel Best of East Tennessee poll. Bliss and Bliss Home have been featured in Southern Living Magazine, Nashville Scene, Design Sponge, DIY, and HGTV cable networks.
