It’s slowly beginning to look like Christmas in the Hamptons — but on some main drags, you find as many “See you next summer” signs in shop windows than you do displays of gift-inspiring wares. Thanks to the grassroots efforts of East Hampton’s Anchor Society, the nonprofit that aims to fill empty storefronts in the off-season on Main Street, your shopping options may well be improving for the waning months of 2024.
“It seemed there was nowhere to go to buy just a simple gift for someone or just rummage around, which is kind of what I love,” says Cristina Buckley, a textile designer and the first participant in the Anchor Society’s Winter Shops program.
In early November, Buckley opened B. Vintage pop-up with her mother, Linda Buckley, in the Alice + Olivia space at 79 Main Street. The Springs-based mother-daughter team brings eclectic charm into the fold, bolstered by their love of collecting antiques for years.
“My mom had an antique shop here in the village in the ’90s called Finds,” recalls Buckley, “and while attending the Anchor Society’s Summer Social back in June, a board member informed us that local population surveys revealed a desire for antiques and secondhand homewares stores.”
This lightbulb moment seemed the perfect opportunity to share what Buckley laughingly refers to as their “basement full of stuff.”
(Photo credit: Doug Young)
“We both adore collecting,” Buckley says. “I often just buy things I love, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them, so many of the items here are from years and years of this favorite pastime.”
Growing up in a family of artists — her mother was a package designer for cosmetics and her father in advertising design — Buckley developed an appreciation for extraordinary objects early on, leading her to a career in set decorating on films before switching paths to textile design. Keen shoppers will spot samples of Buckley’s eye-catching, colorful wallpapers (exclusively represented by the renowned textile company Schumacher) adorning the shop’s window displays.
“It seemed like a nice way to bring in some color and pattern,” says Buckley, who is currently working on a needlepoint pillow line inspired by her collection of vintage samples she has collected. “I prefer old things that have a patina to them or a sense of age. I’m drawn to anything made out of bamboo or lucite. It just has an interesting story, with interesting details.”
With the onset of Holiday window displays in full swing (and a chamber of commerce sponsored contest), Buckley looks forward to joining in the festivities by bringing vintage glass ornaments into B. Vintage, “something my parents collected,” she says, “beautiful old glass balls with amazing colors and stripes,” along with a personal line of Christmas trees made of different materials. “I’ll bring some of those in, too, but I don’t think I am ready to part with many of them.”
It’ll be a welcome site in the winter months. The shift from mostly small, independently owned shops from days gone by to a swathe of national and international businesses with store fronts — 40% of which shutter post-Labor Day, according to the Anchor Society website — is no better demonstrated than by East Hampton’s Main Street.
Formed in 2021, the Anchor Society was founded by Bess Rattray, editor of East magazine, with a mission of fostering commerce that serves the community, from shoppers to small business owners to just the general vibe of Main Street. For Rattray, it’s a mission with close-to-home meaning: Her family has deep, generational roots in East Hampton and have owned the East Hampton Star since 1935.
“It started as reporting we did for East magazine five years ago — empty stores on Main Street not from economic depression, but because [commercial real estate] values became so high, that the only ones who could afford it were very high-end or international companies,” says Rattray, who formed the nonprofit in 2021. “We called around to different resort communities to learn the ways they battle this same issue.”
It’s taken over a year to work out the details for the Winter Shop program, like insurance, negotiating an affordable rent cap based on the space sizes and time frame, and crafting a standard sub-lease agreement for participants in order to ease the red tape between the lease holder and the pop-ups. This year’s launch of the project includes Buckley’s B. Vintage and another shop that’s still in the works, Rattray says, but the program is expected to gain momentum.
“The whole process of this pop-up was quite streamlined through the Anchor Society,” says Buckley, whose lease runs through April 1. “and they’ve been super helpful and supportive.”
On Saturday, Nov. 30, the inspired nonprofit will hold a Jingle Mingle at B. Vintage, where you can learn more about the Anchor Society’s mission and find a unique gift for a loved one while helping support year-round occupancy in our business districts.
“We’re not going to go back to Main Street circa 1975,” says Rattray, “but we can harness the good will and wealth of the community to make sure our ecosystem remains lively.”
