Boutiques & Specialty shops
The Farmer’s Daughters They really are, you know—the farmer’s daughters, that is. Their business is based in a farmhouse (the previous owner sold produce and kept chickens). Refreshed and refurbished, these days it brims with an eclectic mix of antiques, collectibles, and all the fun and funky things that help make a house a home. It’s been twenty years, explain sisters Debbie Youmans and Danelle Fuller, since they made the decision to take their one-time foray into the craft fair circuit and expand it into a business. They knew farming could be a risky proposition, and presumed retail could likely be the same. “Back when we started we had no idea how it would go,” says Debbie. They do now. “We have a lot of faithful customers—people say this is their first stop when they come to Wellsboro,” Danelle says. “Customers get to be friends, which is very nice.” During the summer season, the sea of bee balm and echinacea in the front yard is reason enough to make the turn from Route 6 into the driveway. Regardless of the time of year, though, once you’re out of your vehicle (sometimes even before!) you can’t help but be fascinated by the, well, fascinating assemblage of old and new just waiting for your perusal. There is retro, like the amazing pink refrigerator with its pool-green interior and matching pink General Electric stove. There are petite old end tables, and big wooden cupboards that probably came from a pantry in someone else’s elderly farmhouse. That “farmhouse look” is trendy these days, says Danelle, as is white furniture. “People love the primitives, the crocks and quilts, the things you might have found in your grandmother’s home,” she adds. The inventory of “repurposed” items—the sisters like to say they were repurposing furniture before that practice was as popular as it is today—comes from yard sales, estate sales, auctions, and the like. There is a Christmas room, offering the cheer of that season no matter what the month. Pyrex dishes are a perpetual favorite—and what an assortment there is to choose from. Browsers can find locally-made jewelry and felted products, linens (both antique and new), framed pictures from now and then, cards, signs, decorative plates and plate holders, music boxes, an assortment of little things for the babies in your life, even curtains and a few articles of clothing. What is popular changes, the sisters agree, and so the inventory does regularly as well. To make new memories or refresh some old ones, stop in at 11719 Route 6, just a mile and a half east of downtown Wellsboro. The shop is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (570) 724-1966 or visit www.thefarmersdaughtersshop.com for more information.
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