Farm fresh art and artisan foods in Fennville

Far, far into the green and open country, where the road winds into what the uninitiated call "middle of nowhere" but the initiated term "ahhhhhhh, bliss," is a large red barn and an old yellow house. On the house, just above the curved red brick stairs leading to the wrap-around porch, is the name of the farm: Fernwood. It dates back to 1891.

Dawn Soltysiak has lived on the 32-acre farm at 6322 113th Avenue in Fennville with her husband Rob for 14 years. They are not alone. On the farm with them are 115 chickens, one llama, several peacocks, two sheepdogs, a herd of Scottish Highland cattle, a horse, ducks and bees in hives.

Inside the big red barn, its side decorated with an assortment of shiny hubcaps and a sign that states "Barn Goddess Parking Only," is more treasure. Soltysiak is not only barn goddess, but also resident artist at Khnemu Studio, housed in the barn along with a shop selling the work of 25 southwest Michigan potters and artists. The studio is named for Khnemu, the god of creation, arts and craft, and fertility in Egyptian mythology.

"I got scared when I saw the listing for this place," says Soltysiak, sitting on her porch with sheep dog Samson leaning into her. She’s wearing denim cover-all shorts and a blue bandana to match, two long braids hanging over her shoulders. "Scared because that’s how much I wanted it. It wasn’t anything like this back then. No plantings, nothing for the animals … but I could see its potential."

Her eye was trained for it. Soltysiak, a Rockford native, worked as a real estate agent in greater Grand Rapids for 12 years, the last year overlapping her move to Fernwood Farm.

"Pottery, I did that always," Soltysiak says. "It’s how I kept my sanity. But once we moved here, a year later, I walked away from real estate totally. I haven’t kept up my license. I don’t want a back door. Was it scary? Sure. And it’s ten times harder to start your own business than you think, but it’s worked. People give up too easily."

Soltysiak has not only not given up; she’s expanding. In May 2014, she opened an extension of Fernwood Farm and Khnemu Studio in the form of an art gallery and specialty grocery store in downtown Fennville, at 120 Main Street, a couple doors down from the popular restaurant, Salt of the Earth. The new shop is called, aptly, Fernwood 1891.

"I didn’t really dream about opening a shop," Soltysiak says. "It was just something always there, in the back of my mind, something I kept thinking about. When the previous tenant of the space moved out, I immediately moved in."

The grand opening, with its ribbon-cutting ceremony, pottery-making demonstrations, music and food, was a grand success, bringing in about 200 people and double the sales Soltysiak had dared hoped to make.

"We pulled it all together by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin," Soltysiak says with a laugh. "We had old timey music, and people brought along their own instruments and jammed. Family and friends helped with the food, and we had tents out back for the overflow. There was a synergy of people inviting other people."

Keeping that synergy going between Khnemu Studio and Fernwood 1891, Soltysiak employs five people at the shop, and all five are makers. "I call them makers, not artists," says Soltysiak. "Fernwood 1891 is a makers market, makers of things. The potters who work there do so in exchange for kiln time at the studio. My assistant, Erica Shirey, works for pay, but all the others are exchange situations."

Soltysiak walks her farm to show off the kilns. An immense one, a solar-powered homemade structure of bricks with a heavy door that requires her to lean back on her heels to tug it open on its two steel rails, has its own silo. Outside, across the lawn, are small brick circles used for Raku firing, pit firing, and smoke firing pottery.

Inside the studio are large spaces for making pottery on wheels or tables, shelves brimming with ceramic pots in all stages of creation. Upstairs, in the barn loft, pottery from 25 artists are set out for sale. Climbing the wooden stairs, the post-beam structure of the barn becomes apparent, built entirely without nails.

"Nearly all the artists live no more than an hour from here," Soltysiak says. "Just a couple live farther away. Artists love artist-owned galleries, because I understand that I can’t order five of these and five of those. I tell them to bring in what they want, what’s fresh and new."

Soltysiak chooses her artists for both studio and shop for their unique styles. "I don’t want to show two similar artists," she says. "I look for something earthy, with a country feel to it--when I see it, I know it. I showcase what’s wonderful in southwest Michigan."

Artwork prices range from $1.75 for ceramic magnets to $3,000 for sculptures, "but I’d say the average price falls into the $25 to $50 range," she says.

Fernwood 1891 also stocks fresh baked goods, including bread from Salt of the Earth, cheeses from Evergreen Lane Farm & Creamery, and also local coffee, granola, cookies, soup mixes, crostata, quiche, honey, eggs from Soltysiak’s own chickens, and much more.

While others have failed in opening similar shops in Fennville, Soltysiak isn’t worried. "Too many have gone for the tourists, but that’s a seasonal market. I want to keep the locals coming in my door by providing local foods. We have set hours so that when the customer knocks on the door, someone is there. We accept credit cards, and not everyone has. I signed a five-year lease, so we’re going to make this work."

Fernwood 1891 has tailored their hours to match those of the popular restaurants in town, and Soltysiak has applied for a license to sell beer and wine.

"That should come through sometime this summer, so I’m talking to local wineries and breweries," she says. "This area is so filled with such amazing makers of things. I want to create a general store feeling in town that’s locally-sourced."

For more information including hours, call 269.512.1171 for Fernwood 1891 or 269.236.9260 for Khnemu Studio.

Zinta Aistars is creative director for Z Word, LLC, and editor of the literary magazine, The Smoking Poet. She lives on a farm in Hopkins.

Photos by Erik Holladay.