A Little Shop Begins...
The Calico Patch was started in 1982 by Emily Hartung and Mary Bitterauf as a consignment shop in the heart of downtown Farmington, Maine. Marsha Planting joined soon after. It has since grown to become a haven for those looking for the perfect gift.
Our Early Years
As recounted by Judy Lamoureux in a Morning Sentinel article, published January 19-20, 1991
The Calico Patch
Three women start a gift shop that fits their lifestyles
On a cold winter day in a local restaurant, the idea for the Calico Patch was born.
“Mary and I had been skiing and afterwards went to a birthday party for a mutual friend at Fiddleheads,” remembers Emily Hartung, who, along with Mary Bitterauf and Marsha Planting, owns the distinctive craft and gift shop in Farmington.
Our Early Years
As recounted by Judy Lamoureux in a Morning Sentinel article, published January 19-20, 1991
The Calico Patch
Three women start a gift shop that fits their lifestyles
On a cold winter day in a local restaurant, the idea for the Calico Patch was born.
“Mary and I had been skiing and afterwards went to a birthday party for a mutual friend at Fiddleheads,” remembers Emily Hartung, who, along with Mary Bitterauf and Marsha Planting, owns the distinctive craft and gift shop in Farmington.
Marsha Planting fills a basket of dried flowers.
“We were complaining there were hardly any shops in downtown Farmington. There were ten empty store-fronts at the time,” Mary Bitterauf adds. “If you came into town, there was no place to even have coffee.”
The two women shared a similar interest in crafts and shipping and decided to open a store and a consignment shop. Mary called David Hodgkins, the late president of the Knowlton McLeary Company which owns the building, worked a deal, and on Aug. 19, 1982, they opened their doors.
Mary knew Marsha was compiling a non-profit craft catalog for her church featuring local craftspeople in the West Central Maine area. Mary contacted Marsha, and in September, Marsha joined the venture.
They were not exactly encouraged. Some people, mostly men, would walk by the storefront, look in and shake their heads as if wondering what the women were doing. They overhead that a businessman came into a nearby bank, looked over at the newly-opened store and said, “They don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of making it.” No one came in to wish them well.
“That’s why today we are on the welcoming committee for new businesses in Farmington,” Mary interjects. “We feel it is important to be supportive of new business.”
A few business people were supportive. The Witts from Howard’s Rexall gave the three women card racks, some of which they still have. Marty Pike of Ferrari Brothers gave hangers for clothes.
Those first three years the shop was filled with mainly consignment items. Baskets, sweaters, pottery, reproduction furniture, handmade dolls, smock dresses, handwoven scarfs, jackets and placemats, Christmas ornaments, dried flowers, potpourri, quilts, handhooked rugs were just some of the stock gathered from Central Maine craftspeople.
They carried Stephen Zey baskets and Michelle Maks sweaters before these local crafters began marketing in New York, Boston and across the country. But even though their beginning goal was to promote crafters they eventually realized their needs were outgrowing consignments.
“It just wasn’t economically feasible,” Emily explains. “We weren’t paying ourselves.”
“We also needed to pay our babysitters,” jokes Marsha.
The women did not borrow money to start the business but in the beginning, invested lots of “sweat equity,” as Marsha puts it. Still they had to make a profit, so they decided to expand into other products.
They ordered Maine-made items such as balsam pillows from Maine Balsam Fir Products in North Paris and Dilly beans from Wellspring Farm in New Sharon as much as they could. They added nicer display units and fancier card racks that were salable items themselves. They painted the interior, replaced the carpet and added new lamps for increased lighting.
Emily hand-stencilled the walls to create a “country look.” Everything in the store was for sale (and still is) except the oak Queen Ann oval table now displayed in a small alcove near the dressing room. And like a raspberry patch the Calico Patch grew and grew.
Six years into the business, the three entrepreneurs undertook a major expansion. They enlarged their space by moving into half of what had been The Homestead Deli next door. They redesigned the interior into a French Country look. They increased their giftware, clothing, and toiletry lines. They added handcrafted and gemstone jewelry.
Many of their old staples such as Christian Ridge Pottery and Calico Goose soaps were still carried, but they highlighted Portmerrion stoneware from England and Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries. This time when they reopened people sent flowers and congratulations.
Looking back over the past eight years the women remember the “setbacks and leaps forward,” the husband who lost his job just as the business was opening, the ruined Christmas of ’87 when the pipes burst on the second floor and dripped water on all the merchandise, the new babies born, one to each woman, the steady growth of a shop that didn’t “stand a snowball’s chance in Hell of making it.”
“It has been rewarding to see the business grow along with my family,” Marsha reflects.
“I enjoy the flexibility I have while raising a family,” adds Emily.
“What we are essentially doing is job sharing,” Mary adds. It’s harder than a nine-to-five job because the responsibility is always with us, but we share it and that makes it easier.”
Emily Hartung, Mary Bitterauf and Marsha Planting have fashioned a shop that blends their lifestyles, their interests and their decidedly feminine touch. Marsha shares their secret with her last observation.
“What is nice is that we are there for each other and tuned in to each other. Because we are similar and continue to be.”
The Calico Patch Today
The Calico Patch carries perfect gifts for everyone on your list. We carry a full line of Vera Bradley handbags, accessories, and luggage, Alex & Ani bracelets, Chamilia, Willow Tree figurines, Yankee Candles, Stonewall Kitchen, a full line of Burt’s Bees natural skin and body care products, Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries, cards, baby and child gifts, home decor, Malden frames, sterling silver and 14k gf jewelry, Maine gifts, cookbooks, and local artisan products.
Come visit us today or check our Calico Patch Facebook page to see what's in store!
The two women shared a similar interest in crafts and shipping and decided to open a store and a consignment shop. Mary called David Hodgkins, the late president of the Knowlton McLeary Company which owns the building, worked a deal, and on Aug. 19, 1982, they opened their doors.
Mary knew Marsha was compiling a non-profit craft catalog for her church featuring local craftspeople in the West Central Maine area. Mary contacted Marsha, and in September, Marsha joined the venture.
They were not exactly encouraged. Some people, mostly men, would walk by the storefront, look in and shake their heads as if wondering what the women were doing. They overhead that a businessman came into a nearby bank, looked over at the newly-opened store and said, “They don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of making it.” No one came in to wish them well.
“That’s why today we are on the welcoming committee for new businesses in Farmington,” Mary interjects. “We feel it is important to be supportive of new business.”
A few business people were supportive. The Witts from Howard’s Rexall gave the three women card racks, some of which they still have. Marty Pike of Ferrari Brothers gave hangers for clothes.
Those first three years the shop was filled with mainly consignment items. Baskets, sweaters, pottery, reproduction furniture, handmade dolls, smock dresses, handwoven scarfs, jackets and placemats, Christmas ornaments, dried flowers, potpourri, quilts, handhooked rugs were just some of the stock gathered from Central Maine craftspeople.
They carried Stephen Zey baskets and Michelle Maks sweaters before these local crafters began marketing in New York, Boston and across the country. But even though their beginning goal was to promote crafters they eventually realized their needs were outgrowing consignments.
“It just wasn’t economically feasible,” Emily explains. “We weren’t paying ourselves.”
“We also needed to pay our babysitters,” jokes Marsha.
The women did not borrow money to start the business but in the beginning, invested lots of “sweat equity,” as Marsha puts it. Still they had to make a profit, so they decided to expand into other products.
They ordered Maine-made items such as balsam pillows from Maine Balsam Fir Products in North Paris and Dilly beans from Wellspring Farm in New Sharon as much as they could. They added nicer display units and fancier card racks that were salable items themselves. They painted the interior, replaced the carpet and added new lamps for increased lighting.
Emily hand-stencilled the walls to create a “country look.” Everything in the store was for sale (and still is) except the oak Queen Ann oval table now displayed in a small alcove near the dressing room. And like a raspberry patch the Calico Patch grew and grew.
Six years into the business, the three entrepreneurs undertook a major expansion. They enlarged their space by moving into half of what had been The Homestead Deli next door. They redesigned the interior into a French Country look. They increased their giftware, clothing, and toiletry lines. They added handcrafted and gemstone jewelry.
Many of their old staples such as Christian Ridge Pottery and Calico Goose soaps were still carried, but they highlighted Portmerrion stoneware from England and Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries. This time when they reopened people sent flowers and congratulations.
Looking back over the past eight years the women remember the “setbacks and leaps forward,” the husband who lost his job just as the business was opening, the ruined Christmas of ’87 when the pipes burst on the second floor and dripped water on all the merchandise, the new babies born, one to each woman, the steady growth of a shop that didn’t “stand a snowball’s chance in Hell of making it.”
“It has been rewarding to see the business grow along with my family,” Marsha reflects.
“I enjoy the flexibility I have while raising a family,” adds Emily.
“What we are essentially doing is job sharing,” Mary adds. It’s harder than a nine-to-five job because the responsibility is always with us, but we share it and that makes it easier.”
Emily Hartung, Mary Bitterauf and Marsha Planting have fashioned a shop that blends their lifestyles, their interests and their decidedly feminine touch. Marsha shares their secret with her last observation.
“What is nice is that we are there for each other and tuned in to each other. Because we are similar and continue to be.”
The Calico Patch Today
The Calico Patch carries perfect gifts for everyone on your list. We carry a full line of Vera Bradley handbags, accessories, and luggage, Alex & Ani bracelets, Chamilia, Willow Tree figurines, Yankee Candles, Stonewall Kitchen, a full line of Burt’s Bees natural skin and body care products, Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries, cards, baby and child gifts, home decor, Malden frames, sterling silver and 14k gf jewelry, Maine gifts, cookbooks, and local artisan products.
Come visit us today or check our Calico Patch Facebook page to see what's in store!