Astrid Vigeland’s Folly 101 is a feast of goods for the tabletop and more.
By Amy Sutherland
Photographs by Mark Fleming
The Owner. A longtime photo stylist and interior decorator, Astrid Vigeland named her 17-year-old shop after a camp owned by dear friends of her parents. “Throughout our childhood, my brothers and I would hear about what a special place Folly was, and you never quite knew what to expect.”
The Neighborhood. Folly 101 occupies an airy 19th-century building with a huge storefront on Exchange Street in Portland’s much-trafficked Old Port. It’s steps from Tommy’s Park and Post Office Park, favorite spots for people-watching.
What’s Inside. Vigeland stashes almost everything you might need to entertain — French salad servers, teak appetizer plates, buffalo-plaid napkins — along with gift items such as scented soaps, linen scarves, and baby things. The store has the feeling of an old-time general store, with its wealth of affordable goods piled here and there, but the look of a sophisticated design boutique. Vigeland obviously loves white (she stocks a healthy inventory of white ironware), but each color gets its due. Items are grouped by shade so a host in a rush can easily find blue salad plates. Vigeland favors practicality, but there are plenty of whimsical touches, such as the individual butter ramekins or palm-size graters.
We Love. Feather-light baskets in all sizes and shapes from Mexico, teeny-tiny porcelain bowls for dipping sauces or olives, bold-patterned cotton tablecloths, turquoise-colored, pear-shaped candles, tin dishes enameled with marbleized red, striped ticking aprons, glass and ceramic vessels from wee creamers to sangria pitchers, round linen-coated trays for organizing your bar, rectangular ceramic plates for tapas, and, of course, paper dinner napkins covered with shimmering lobsters.
101 Exchange St. 207-773-5227.
More to Explore
Don’t miss these other Old Port haunts.
●Holly Hamilton Jewelry
Besides her custom-made jewelry, resembling updated Renaissance gems, Hamilton fills her store with Maine ceramist George Pearlman’s innovative pottery.
97 Exchange St. 207-772-8887.
●Mt. Desert Island
Ice Cream
This shop scoops flavors like Butterscotch Miso and Blackstrap Banana, but if you prefer your cone traditional, there’s always the super-chocolate-y Callebaut Chocolate.
51 Exchange St. 207-210-3432.
●Bard Coffee
This Maine roaster pours a half-dozen or so of its single-origin brews in a sun-filled café. Step outside to sip your cup of Cameroon Oku next door in Tommy’s Park.
185 Middle St. 207-899-4788.
The post A Kitchenware-Lover’s Banquet appeared first on Down East.