Upstate House

Creative Intersection: Ivy’s Collective in Sharon

A Welcoming Destination for Estate Sale, Antiques, and Collectibles

By Lisa Green  |  Photos by Nan Bookless  |  Summer 2024   |  The Source

Two Manhattan real estate brokers, Ivy and Daniel Kramp, are putting their time, energy and money into a venture motivated by their mutual love of design and desire to engage with the community. While they might have done that in New York, they’ve chosen to invigorate the intersection of Routes 4 and 7 on the border of Sharon and Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut. Owners of a home in Sharon since 2015, their investment in their adopted community is Ivy’s Collective, a welcoming destination for estate sale, antique and collectibles items. It’s more than a design and décor store: It’s becoming a hub of activity in an area that’s crying out for more commerce.

Although Ivy’s just opened in October, this quiet corner of the Litchfield Hills now bustles with customers and sales are brisk. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Ivy’s shares space with Blue Gate Farm Bakery, a boulangerie/patisserie that runs on the same schedule (Friday-Sunday) as Ivy’s. (Advice to the curious: you must try the divine 30-layer crêpe cake and the Cornwall rolls—white chocolate pastry cream and pistachio ganache—as well as the baguettes and other breads.) But residing in a building with an in-house bakery is not only brilliant, it fulfills one of the missions of the Kramps—and the shop’s raison d’etre.

“We wanted to create a sense of community,” Daniel says. Have a coffee and a Cornwall roll, try out the couches and tables for sale, invest in some art, and meet up with your neighbors. “You walk in and you want to stay.”

“It definitely fulfills a creative need in both of us,” says Ivy, admitting that although they don’t know anything about retail, they love design. As real estate brokers, they stage homes for their clients and understand and appreciate the importance of delivering a compelling visual scene.

When the property came on the market last summer, the couple moved fast so they could open in October. (The bakery was already in place). Ivy, who grew up accompanying her mother on trips to antique stores, called on Liz Macaire, who works with estates and consignments, to bring in most of the goods. She and Ivy then curate the look, which keeps the customer’s eyes moving across the merchandise without it seeming like an overstuffed vintage boutique. With so many return visitors, they are constantly rotating items and bringing new ones in.

“We wanted to create a sense of community,” Daniel says. Have a coffee and a Cornwall roll, try out the couches and tables for sale, invest in some art, and meet up with your neighbors. “You walk in and you want to stay.”

“It definitely fulfills a creative need in both of us,” says Ivy, admitting that although they don’t know anything about retail, they love design. As real estate brokers, they stage homes for their clients and understand and appreciate the importance of delivering a compelling visual scene.

When the property came on the market last summer, the couple moved fast so they could open in October. (The bakery was already in place). Ivy, who grew up accompanying her mother on trips to antique stores, called on Liz Macaire, who works with estates and consignments, to bring in most of the goods. She and Ivy then curate the look, which keeps the customer’s eyes moving across the merchandise without it seeming like an overstuffed vintage boutique. With so many return visitors, they are constantly rotating items and bringing new ones in.

“We wanted it to have an ABC (Carpet & Home) vibe, but in an approachable way,” Ivy says, as Daniel points out that there are seven and $10 items along with the pricier goods. A room off to the side of the bakery contains a “sold” couch, chinoiserie tables (not procured together but that look like a set), along with outdoor tabletop items and bowls of smudge sticks. While you wouldn’t say anything was cheap, the items are priced to be accessible to many.

The property once hosted a small nursery, and the greenhouse, now called “The Bubble,” is used for Ivy’s Collective overflow. “It satisfies the person who wants to hunt a little more,” Ivy says. The Kramps would like to reinstate a small, outdoor nursery and are looking for a summertime vendor.

Taking center stage in the shop is Daniel’s vintage Yamaha motorcycle (priced at $4,900). It’s a hint of what he’s cooking up for spring: Coffee and Motorcycle Saturdays, a place for Litchfield County bike enthusiasts to meet and fuel themselves for a day of riding. “This is a fun way for us to get to know our community,” Ivy says. The couple estimate that 75 percent of the customers (at this time of year) are local, but there’s a hiking trail right across the street that is a good source of traffic. And traffic is what the area needs, they say.

“This location is underserved,” Daniel says. “It felt sort of dead here. We are helping to slowly build up new life in this section [of Northwest Connecticut].”

Indeed, on a recent Saturday visit, there’s a line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot. The atmosphere is lively, with bakery owner Yobana Young (her husband, Bruce, is the baker) greeting customers like old friends while shoppers, coffees in hand, inspect the merchandise. Food, friends and beautiful design—what could be better?

“This is our passion project,” says Daniel. “It’s nice to make a profit, but that’s not the goal.”

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