When Angel Kulzcyk was ready to sell some of her vintage wardrobe, it was a “no-brainer” to do it from the barn at the Blue Hill farm property where she lives with her partner and five children.
People already stopped by regularly to ask about the garden and the 1876 timber-framed barn, sharing memories of former owners Jerry and Gayle Durnbaugh, who helped start numerous area institutions including the local ambulance corps, food pantry and Weekly Packet newspaper. And Kulczyk wanted to connect with her local community rather than selling clothes online.
So in June, she opened Farm House Vintage marked only with a small wood sign along Route 172/South Street, where visitors can stop to shop, talk, work on their own crafts or learn from her textile projects.
“That’s really my concept, is that Monday, Wednesday, Friday, the space is open to the community to just come and be and connect and communicate. That’s really the heart of it,” Kulzcyk said Monday while embroidering inside the barn. “And if you like to shop for clothing, come do that too.”
Farm House Vintage has also absorbed the inventory of a similar local home-based clothing shop, Moth + Raven, that’s closing as owner Marsha Fulton moves overseas.
Kulczyk’s barn already is bringing together numerous community connections and introducing her to people across the peninsula, where she’s lived for five and a half years. Older neighbors stopping by remember the Durnbaughs and coming there for community dinners in the past, a role she’s now reprising in her own way.
“There is this niche market here on the peninsula where you can be more involved in the community and have people come to you,” Kulzcyk said.
To that end, she doesn’t sell online — posting only on Instagram as @farm_house_vintage — and aims to bring back a meaningful, hands-on, personal experience of retail shopping she feels is missing today while eschewing fast fashion.
Originally from Buffalo, New York, she worked for a high-end consignment store there that she said was ahead of its time. She’s also long thrifted, mended and altered her own clothes. Textiles keep stories, Kulzcyk said, and wearing clothes that have been intentionally selected and cared for contribute to personal style.
“I find that when you really have to dig for it and you feel called to something, that’s where style really can shine, in my opinion,” she said.
Kulczyk works on mending and other projects as people drop by, demonstrating how clothes can be made to last and sharing new skills. July’s focus on indigo dye led one visitor to return with indigo plants so Kulczyk could grow her own, now thriving in the farmhouse garden.
In June, while Kulczyk was sewing pants, Fulton’s realtor stopped by to tell her she should see Moth + Raven’s inventory. Fulton eventually donated her inventory of boho style and upcycled clothing to Kulczyk. She’ll continue to sell her upcycled work online.
“It was like a little miracle, because I had no idea what I was going to do with all this stuff,” Fulton said Monday as she dropped off bins of clothing.
Fulton started selling clothes at her Hinckley Ridge home about two years ago, and was surprised by how successful the business was as it grew by word of mouth, she said.
One stall in the barn now features Kulczyk’s clothes with some handmade pieces mixed in, and another is filling up with Moth + Raven inventory.
On Dec. 15, the property will also host an artists market with Portland-based art event organizer Little Death for the second year in a row.
Farmhouse Vintage at 419 South St. in Blue Hill is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday through November and will reopen next Memorial Day.
