Celebrating Vermont on a T-shirt
Mark Scully, owner of Vermont Eclectic Company in Woodstock, Vermont, sells a couple of the shop’s Vermont-made T-shirts to Tom Giapponi, of Quechee, on Tuesday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Mark Scully's new shop not only celebrates Vermont, but it also celebrates Vermont-made art — with T-shirts.
That's the main event at Vermont Eclectic Company on Central Street in downtown Woodstock, Vermont, a store offering a variety of T-shirts are all designed and made in the Green Mountain State. And the creators are front and center.
"It's trying to create the sense of a gallery, highlighting the designs of the shirts and the artists' bios," Scully said.
The new venture came about following some big changes. Scully left his human resources job in Boston, after a 30-year career in that sector, looking for a new path in life. He and his wife, Maura, eventually sold their house in Boston and their seasonal home in Plymouth, and then moved to Woodstock, arriving at their home in Linden Hill last September.
While taking a stroll around Woodstock one day, the beginnings of an idea took root.
"People were walking around town with T-shirts, but none were T-shirts about Vermont," Scully said. "They were all about other places." He later found a survey online which said about half of Americans have a T-shirt they hold onto for years for nostalgia, and about half of those are bought on vacation.
Thus was born the idea for Vermont Eclectic Company, which opened on July 3, when Scully saw plenty of customers (even with the 3-person capacity limit in the shop).
Meet “Clucky,” the mascot of Vermont Eclectic Company, whose creation was inspired by one of the T-shirt designs at the shop. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
The store opened after a three-month renovation which wrapped up just a couple days before the doors opened to the public.
"I didn't know what to expect, especially with COVID," Scully said, noting the capacity limit and mask requirement. "But everyone's been super respectful."
Customers coming into the store find several other Vermont-made items, including candles, birdhouses and guestbooks. The biggest attraction at the shop — literally the biggest, by size — is the giant chicken sculpture named "Clucky." He was made in Vermont, too, built at The Arcana Workshop in Barre, and inspired by the T-shirt design from artist Sarah Rosedahl.
The T-shirts are all screen-printed in Vermont by New Duds in Colchester, except for several of the kids' shirts, which artist Heather Drury did by hand.
Going forward, Scully plans to keep switching up the T-shirt offerings, much like a gallery would.
"So there's always a reason to come in and check it out," he said. Three new Vermont designs are coming soon.
Vermont Eclectic, located at 12B Central Street in Woodstock, Vermont, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Contact the shop at 802-281-0885, email vteclecticco.com, or visit www.vteclecticco.com.
— Gareth Henderson
