Add another business to Southold’s growing list of vintage furniture and home goods shops.
Sisters Laura Hansen and Susan Hansen Fasano are bringing their country chic style to Main Road in the form of their pop-up store, Pearl Cottage, which opens today.
“This is really a culmination of what we like, rustic and refined,” Susan said. “We mix in a little bit of the new amongst the old.”
Specializing in vintage and repurposed furniture, home accents and gifts, the rustic part includes unfinished wood furniture, large baskets and thick wool blankets. Refined items include beautiful linens, scented soaps and candles.
Prices for their items range from $6 to $1,500 for some of the larger furniture pieces.
“Typically, the average item is $50,” Laura said. “Some of our furniture is very affordable.”
The Hansens are originally from East Islip, Laura now lives in Sag Harbor and works for Ralph Lauren, while Susan is raising her family in Bayport. Together they created Pearl Cottage three years ago in Sayville. This year they decided to sell that store and set up a temporary shop on the North Fork.
“Lori [Guyer, owner of White Flower Farmhouse] was so gracious in knowing what we do and we’re somewhat alike, although we all do our own spin,” Laura said. “She told Sue about the availability of this building, so we are grateful. We feel at home.”
Both sisters credit their mother with giving them the repurposing gene, sending them out as children to pick up abandoned furniture left on neighbors’ curbs.
“She used to send us, in the dark, down the street to get these vintage pieces,” Susan said. “We would die of embarrassment and put on disguises to go and get the couches and the dressers to repurpose things.”
Both sisters are now enthusiastic repurposers, reworking discarded furniture and buying unusual odds and ends for their shop.
“[The things] you can achieve with a can of white paint or any paint and a sewing machine,” Laura said. “We grew up with very little, but what made our lives special was how our mom overcompensated.”
Pearl Cottage will remain open for the next three months until the end of the year. After that, the Hansens plan to keep their options open.
Located at 54127 Main Road in Southold, Pearl Cottage will be open Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on weekends from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (239) 628-9717 for more information, visit their Facebook page or follow them on Instagram.
