Located just behind the Sheetz on U.S. 221 in Forest, The White Brick House, a large 228-year-old plantation-style home, feels like it is miles away from society as it sits up on its three acres in the historic Ashwood Manor. The business, owned by Peg Breiholz, sells vintage home décor made by local vendors.
Breiholz said the business is a great place to find “old, cool things” for people to decorate their space with.
Breiholz describes the business as a “fixer-upper on steroids.”
“People who just want to make their house look awesome and use authentic items love it,” she said.
Items sold include jewelry, key chains, signs, shabby-chic tables, chests and china hutches as well as architectural salvage, vintage furniture, beach house-style items and farmhouse-style items like kitchen and baking tools.
The house was built on land that belonged to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson gave the land to his daughter as a wedding gift. The land eventually was sold, and the home was built on the 1,000-acre plantation in 1790 located at 1197 Ashwood Park in Forest.
Today the plantation land has been reduced to only three acres.
The vintage shop has two floors of rooms rented out by 18 creative vendors who sell their unique and often handmade and hand-painted items.
The two-and-half-year-old business is run entirely by about 20 women between 18 and 60 years old selling items priced from 50 cents to $600.
Breiholz has noticed women are living a more creative life and are finding their own terms of what they want their life to be like.
“If they want to be a stay-at-home mom or if they want to work and if they want both, how do they make that happen?” she said. “They are thinking outside the box to say, ‘How do I make this work?’ So it’s taking power for themselves to define what they want to do.”
Michele Hayden, a resident of Amherst County, has been a vendor with The White Brick House since its inception when it opened in August 2015.
She said customers love the business because it feels unique and special. They all want something no one else has.
“You won’t find anything like this anywhere else,” she said. “A lot of these things are found items and are created from the things people find and make. It’s an artistic market place.”
Cheryl Bryan, a Forest resident, started her business online with Etsy and has a space at the house.
The two women say the vendors have become close-knit and aren’t competitive at all.
“Even though we’re all individual vendors, we’re all representing one massive thing, so it got us all on one page with collaborative ideas and recommendations,” Bryan said.
Breiholz said when customers shop local, they are helping out individual people.
“This is our blood, sweat and tears,” she said. “When people shop with us, that helps us stay open, so that’s a big impact on our community.”
The vendors are in all stages of life, and the shop gives them a way to be creative in a way that fits in with family obligations, Breiholz said.
“It helps the young mom stay home with her baby, the mom with teens to prepare for college expenses, or for some of us just to pay the regular bills,” she said.
Breiholz hopes customers walking through the house will feel like they have a connection with the past. Oftentimes, they see items their mother or grandmother used to have, and it brings back fond memories.
“They call it their happy place,” she said. “It feels like home.”