Tatters is a tea room and sustainable shopping spree all rolled into one, located inside a converted church in Warren. The building with soft light streaming in through stained glass windows has been renovated into a retail and living space. The shop is run by Carol Riley, who hails from Ireland and bakes her family recipes for the shop’s tea tower of scones, Victoria sponge cake, chocolate ganache tart and raspberry crumble served with Devonshire clotted cream and jam. The spread also comes with tea sandwiches of hummus with pickled red cabbage, goat cheese with red pepper jelly, cucumber with cream cheese and egg salad alongside a pot of hot tea with milk and sugar, served in a delicate tea set.
Guests must book a reservation in advance to get the full high tea treatment, but it’s an afternoon well spent, especially when you make a day of it by exploring the shop’s sustainable fashions created from donated and recovered fabrics. The shop is lined with racks of tops, dresses and skirts made from repurposed lace, florals and delicate linens alongside Derby-worthy hats, bags and purses, and even handmade pillows, furniture and wooden bowls crafted by a local woodworker.
The back corner of the charming retail shop is a tea room with mismatched chairs and tables that were either donated by people or found on the side of the road. But everything works together to create the sustainable vibe that Riley has cultivated. Even the delicate English, gold-rimmed tea sets on which the treats are served are donated to Riley, who gladly gives them a new home for all to enjoy.
“People come in and say something like, ‘Oh, my mom died, or my aunt died,’ and they give them to me,” Riley says. “There are some [tea sets] that are amazingly beautiful. I keep those elsewhere because if I use them, I’ll break them.”…