Upon moving to Southbury in August of 2022, my husband and I immediately fell in love with Southbury. Coming from a town we adored in New Fairfield where we raised our son and daughter, we had mixed emotions about leaving to begin the next chapter of our lives as empty nesters. The charm of Southbury and the wonderful community of people were so welcoming. One day I found myself in a little shop; the most adorable shop I had ever seen – it was the shop I had talked about, planned for and dreamt about my whole life. Well this little shop was The Cottage At Main and it was love at first sight for me. A few weeks later, Shirley’s life took a different turn and the shop was closing. It was meant to be that I walked into the store again and Shirley and I worked out a plan for me to purchase the store from her.

The premise behind the cottage will be the same – locally owned, grown and made, hand crafted and personalized items. Affordable and unique gifts. We have added free coffee (with a donation to the Food Bank, as we now host a shelf there), an old-fashioned candy bar and a focus on promoting other area small businesses.

Our workshops will continue with more being added each day! There will also be Crafting Days once every two months where people can gather to learn, create and make new friendships. We will have artist spotlight days where you can come and meet the collaborators of the cottage.

The cottage will be run as a cooperative meaning that some of the crafters and artisans will take turns working at the shop.

We are always open to new ideas so please share! Looking forward to so many good times ahead together!