Deer Isle shop, gallery space offers eclectic ‘wares’
By Jenna Lookner
DEER ISLE—Slightly off the beaten path and just past Deer Isle Village sits the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it new shop, Wares. Housed in a renovated 19th century barn, Wares is filled with art, books, jewelry, and gifts as well as local and selected fine goods.
“It’s just a selection of things that I love,” said owner Sal Taylor-Kydd. She said she wanted to create a dynamic space with items that appeal to a range of patrons, seeking a balance that is neither “too high-end” or overly “touristy,” she said.
Courtesy of Taylor Kydd.
“I am trying to create something that is curated but accessible,” she said.
Taylor-Kydd opened Wares at the beginning of August. For a number of years, the space was as used as a gallery and studio to showcase Taylor-Kydd’s own artworks that combine her talents for photography, mixed media, assemblage, and the written word.
“I sort of describe myself as a photographic artist,” she said. Also a poet, one of the selected books in her shop is a collection of Taylor-Kydd’s original poetry called “Crossings.”
An artist, writer, and teacher, Taylor-Kydd has long split her time between Rockport and Deer Isle, with travel for both work and pleasure peppering her winters. Now, with her daughter in college, Taylor-Kydd and her husband Steven plan on making Deer Isle their year-round home, she said. Steven’s family has long owned property on the island and they have been visiting together for approximately two decades, purchasing their antique cape and barn about 15 years ago, Taylor-Kydd said.
Located at 43 Dunham Point Road just outside of Deer Isle Village, a journey to Wares takes you on a short route past other Island homes and glimpses of the sea. The shop sits beside Taylor-Kydd’s lovingly renovated home and resplendent flower gardens.
Beside the shop space, a team worked to level an adjacent patio area taking shape beneath a stand of apple trees dripping with early fruit.
“I want to create a destination,” Taylor-Kydd said of the patio. “This will be a patio for events or just enjoying a book and a snack.”
Taylor-Kydd has kept the second floor dedicated to showcasing her own work and a rotating exhibition of pieces by featured Maine artists. Currently, a selection of drawings by Deer Isle artist Bruce Bulger is on display. Works by celebrated Maine artists including Anneli Skaar and Abe Goodale are also available.
Handmade brooms by Anna Flynn of Lincolnville are offered for sale along with ceramic vessels created by her sister, Meghan Flynn. A selection of artfully packaged tinned fish by Fishwife, date-sweetened chocolate by Spring & Mulberry, jewelry by Tim Whitten of Stonington’s Markinespike Chandlery, body products and scents by Maison Louis Marie, notecards, gift items, garden items, and more are woven into the handpicked selection of merchandise on offer.
“I love highlighting local artists whose work I have always admired,” she said.
Wares is open Monday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Taylor-Kydd said she plans to stay open into October. To learn more, visit Wares on Instagram at @curatedwares.me or on the web at https://www.curatedwares.me or browse photos from the gallery below.
