Market Street runs from East York to West York, linking the city's Revolutionary past with its present day industrial, agricultural and retailing achievements. Most of the factories and shopping districts lie outside the central downtown area, home to the historic district, narrow one-way streets and limited parking. Some shop owners have been fortunate to find retail space on the western side of downtown, such as the Helf family, who have provided flooring and home furnishings to the residents of York for more than 60 years.

Today, Mummert and sister-in-law Joyce Helf oversee the 10,000-sq.-ft. flooring and furnishings operation, located in a former department store that patriarch Larry Helf bought in 1980 to house his carpet store. Helf rented out 13 apartment units and part of the ground floor to cover his investment, but was faced with empty retail space in 1983 after a vacuum shop moved out. "When the lease expired and no one expressed any interest, we began to look for other ways to make money off of it," Mummert said.

Around that time, Larry Helf and his sons attended a carpet show in Atlanta where they stumbled upon wicker and rattan furniture. "They were taking a break and sort of wandered to the upper levels of the building," Mummert said. Excited about his find, Helf placed a call to his wife and daughters in Pennsylvania and asked them to fly down to Atlanta to see the lines and help place an order. "Max Jones, owner of The Wicker Barn, educated us on wicker and rattan, and from 1983–1995 we had the market in York wrapped up."

During those years the store was known as Windows, Walls, Wicker, Whatever. Wicker was gradually supplemented with other items, and as their business sense grew, so did the store, renamed Furniture Finessse in 1996. The store draws shoppers from Hershey, Mechanicsburg and Baltimore and has a solid base from the local York-Hanover area, including a lot of regulars and repeat business. "Of every four people who walk through the door, we probably know three well enough to greet with a hug," Mummert said.

Melanie Greer is the main buyer, and Joyce Helf's daughter-in-law. Greer attributes most of her selection to research, catalogs and trade publications. "We don't go to markets or trade shows anymore. There are several magazines I look to for new products and sources, the main one being Home Accents Today," Greer said. "If I find something I like and we haven't ordered from them before, I research the vendor online to check out their background, get contact information, then call the local rep. The decision to buy is usually made as a group." The group is rounded out by Joseph McGowan, decorator/showroom coordinator, Novenia Boxley, decorator/sales associate, and Eileen Briddell, who has worked as an independent contractor for the store since 1994 as a designer.

Word-of-mouth advertising from other local businesses has served them best, but they've also advertised on billboards, magazines, newspapers and the back of church bulletins. Mummert uses her digital camera to create mailers for sales events which include an accessory sale before Christmas, and a spring and fall sale to clear out and rejuvenate stock.

Maintaining a small-town culture is important to Mummert. "We work with any budget and treat everyone the same, and we've only had two bounced checks in the last 10 years," she said. "Each staff member handles a transaction every step of the way, from the time a customer walks through the door, to installation in the home." Customers are allowed to try things out at home for 3–5 days, no deposit required and Mummert said the store has had very few returns, "Maybe just five in the last 10 years, because we make sure the customer knows what they're buying." Mummert and Greer said they've come to expect the same level of service. "We're disappointed when we shop because we are looking to receive the same service and we rarely get it."