Belle Jar Design in Clifton specializes in restoring vintage furniture and re-purposing antique items such as apothecary jars and tobacco-picking baskets. Photo by Tim Peterson.
Laura Jane Cohen and Heather Taylor’s business is a bit like the historic town of Clifton itself. They’re taking something that’s well-aged and restoring it for others to appreciate the character, charm and beauty of the piece. So it’s fitting the duo is holding the grand opening of their Belle Jar Design retail store for vintage furniture and reclaimed rustic design items on the town’s 48th annual Clifton Day festival.
Cohen and Taylor, previously amateur vintage market hunters and interior designers for themselves and friends, decided to go professional in 2014. Initially operating out of Sweet Clover barn in Frederick, Md., they also visited flea markets including Lucketts in Leesburg and began making a name for themselves.
The pair was interested in opening a retail store and getting a firm roof over their heads as opposed to a fair tent. When a real estate agent showed them the early 1900s-era house at 7137 Main Street in Clifton, they knew the historic location would “marry the feel of what we do,” said Cohen.
The house had come up for rent after being vacated by La Bella Luce imported and antique furniture. Belle Jar Design’s lease began Sept. 1, and immediately Cohen and Taylor were welcomed by locals looking in the windows and offering warm greetings.
“We’ve been overwhelmed,” said Taylor, whose background is a nurse practitioner. “Clifton has been so welcoming, so kind.”
Cohen said other small business owners in the town, including from Hydrangea of Clifton, the Clifton Wine Shop and Cupcaked bakery came to visit and expressed that more retail is good for all of them.
“People have looked out for us in a way we never would’ve expected,” said Cohen. “It’s such a small town. The waitresses at the Main Street Pub already know us. We felt at home very quickly.”
At the heart of Belle Jar Design (a play on the vintage “bell” jars the two have become known for using in their designs) is finding new ways to play with and repurpose old elements -- craft a personal design whether your preference is modern, antique or mixed. Cohen used the example of taking a mixing bowl that belonged to your grandmother and making it the centerpiece on a dining room table.
“It’s not getting something to look like a kitchen threw up in a dining room,” she said, “but could you use a vintage farm table with Ghost chairs? Yes.”
Each of the pieces in the retail store, from a ruddy-brown bachelor chest to a tall, stately ivory dresser, has been sourced in Virginia or North Carolina, refurbished and made functional again.
“We believe in keeping the history of the piece,” said Taylor, “restoring the natural beauty of unpainted wood, making sure the drawers and doors all work.”
Cohen learned furniture refurbishing from her carpenter grandfather and handyman father. She and Taylor do restoring work themselves, with carpentry help from Cohen’s husband Seth.
“We have very supportive families, that makes the biggest difference,” said Cohen. Both women said their friends and neighbors have also pitched in, either providing moral support or showing them furniture on their phones at Old Keene Mill pool over the summer and asking the Belles if they’ll take it.
“We’ve never not taken something,” Cohen and Taylor said.
Belle Jar Design opens Oct. 11 on Clifton Day. For more information, visit www.bellejardesign.com.