Page 26 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2020

MY HAPPY PLACE
ABOVE PHOTO: Hyla and Ray Weiss
story by Rachel Hoyt photos by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster and courtesy of My Happy Place
Ray and Hyla Weiss love Ocean Springs – and they love art. “We both ‘dabble’ in art – Ray with woodturning and me with ceramics,” Hyla said, but they felt that their community needed stronger representation of the talent they see all around them. Then, one morning over co ee, the idea for My Happy Place Gallery was born.
26 | July 2020
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
The couple is no stranger to running a successful business in the vibrant Ocean Springs community. They opened On the Menu, a kitchen/cooking-ware boutique, on Government Street in 1998. But, “after 21 years in business,
it was apparent to us that it was time
to make a change,” Hyla said. They shuttered the store, dedicated, however, to preserving the 120-year-old house the store had made its longtime home.
“The structure that houses the gallery was a home for many years. It was nally sold around 1990 to a retired Air Force nurse that ran a book store there until we purchased the property in 2001 and relocated On the Menu,” Hyla said. With the inspiration to open My Happy Place in the same building, the couple undertook renovations to maintain the
rustic atmosphere, while modernizing how they would display their beloved art. Their renovations also allowed them to create a unique, intimate event space for small gatherings.
While the world has been reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Weisses have been hard at work. Their original, planned opening date of May 1 had to be pushed back. “It all worked out well as we would have really been pushing to complete all the renovations by the original opening day,” Ray said.
The freshly renovated space is warm and comfortable. “We don’t want My Happy Place to be thought of as a stu y art gallery that is not very welcoming, but rather a place you could hang out and enjoy the local vibe and culture,” Hyla said.
ARTS