Tammy's Cool Things

Tammy's Cool Things sits at 2281 Ocean Gateway, on US Route 50 in Trappe, on the north side of the Choptank River directly across from Cambridge. The store lists its phone number as 410-476-3300, and its hours run 10 AM to 7 PM most days, with a Tuesday close — the store's own listings note the Tuesday closure, so a call ahead is the safe move.

The store started with founder Tammy, who began selling at the Amish Market and outdoor events before the Trappe storefront took shape. According to the store's blog, the shop is now run by Erica, her brother Daniel, and her sister-in-law Ting, who also runs Ting's Cool Things.

The merchandise is the point. The shelves carry incense, candles, crystals and stones, tarot decks and books, home decor, dreamcatchers, jewelry, tie-dye and clothing, tapestries, tea, sage, soap, toys, and artwork. A glass and smoke shop operates in the back of the store, with tobacco and CBD items restricted to customers 21 and older. The mix gives the shop its character: part gift store, part curiosity shop.

The shop also puts on events like "Hippie Halloween," and in late 2025 the store hosted a free Santa photo day with Toys for Tots donations and the Craft Bakery on site. Locals have a nickname for the place — "the coolest store on the Eastern Shore" — which reflects how the shop has become a destination stop for people passing through the Cambridge/Trappe area.

For LifeOnTheShore, Tammy's Cool Things belongs in the local place guide as a distinctive retail fixture. It is the kind of store people plan a stop around, and it gives the Trappe/Cambridge corridor a character that a strip of standard retail would not. That is a local treasure worth knowing about.