The North Fork Apothecary (37070 Main Road, Cutchogue) has become a hub for creative women.
Owner Stephanie Sack has curated a beautiful store in a historic locale — the building dates back to 1850 and has been many home to many different businesses (the site of the former Cutchogue post office, for one) and blooms with clothing and gifts galore. But it’s become home to much more: an art gallery curated by storied photographer Deborah Feingold; an event space for talks and readings; and, tucked into the side of the historic building, is another shop with a special focus: The Bellwether.
The Bellwether is a textile studio and store owned by Stephanie Pinerio, a former Manhattan-based advertising creative director. Pinerio studied surface/textile design at S.U.N.Y.’s Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.
“Surface design is any kind of pattern,” says Pinerio. “It’s a very broad spectrum program. I started taking classes and fell in love with it.”
Pinerio found her passion — and a heretofore hidden talent — in FIT’s weaving classes and ultimately decided to step away from advertising.
“The weaving room [at FIT] was an epic room,” she recalls. “It had all these looms and the walls were filled with yarn. So I decided I was done with advertising, which wasn’t a hard decision!”
After honing her craft at FIT, Pinerio got a job creating wallpaper for Elizabeth Dow, an East Hampton-based designer known for her handmade wallpaper. After seeing some of Pinerio’s beautiful creations Dow encouraged the nascent weaver to launch her own line of products, which would eventually become Shed Textile Co.
“I started with pillows,” says Pinerio. “It was hysterical — I was all new to this and I was on my loom, being creative, and [Dow] goes, ‘put them on a pillow!’ So I find a seamstress, turn them into pillows, we put them on the show floor [at Elizabeth Dow Home] and some designer comes in and asks for 10 of them. I was like, ‘What? I don’t even know how I did it!’”
That early experience of working at Elizabeth Dow Home prepared Pinerio for a career in textile. “You learn really fast to keep notes and write down recipes for designs and patterns,” she says. “In advertising, you know how to do a visual brand but you don’t know how to run a business.”
Pinerio started running Shed Textile Co. in 2018 out of her home on the North Fork, but longed for an official space, especially after the isolation of the pandemic. She joined Women’s Entrepreneurial Business North Fork, a local women’s entrepreneurial group, where she met Sack.
Pinerio and Sack, with their shared creative spirit, hit it off immediately. Sack offered Pinerio a space to work inside the Apothecary, and early this year offered her the side room of the store to showcase her wares to the public.
The result is pretty spectacular — The Bellwether is both Pinerio’s workspace and a store. Products on offer include Shed Textile Co.’s handwoven items like pillows and custom beanie hats, as well as textile supplies and items from other textile-focused vendors.
What makes The Bellwether so unique, though, is that customers will likely find Pinerio working on her loom while they shop.
“If it was just me selling products, I wouldn’t have done it,” says Pinerio. “I like that part, but I like creating. I want to make as many proprietary products as possible.”
Sack is thrilled to have Pinerio and The Bellwether at the North Fork Apothecary.
“Stephanie’s talent is incredible,” says Sack. “And to have a working studio on-site where people can come and experience the entire process is as authentic a North Fork seed-to-garment experience one can have.”
Check out The Bellwether at North Fork Apothecary from Thursday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
