Local Homes And Business

Featured In New Publication

By Nancy K. Crevier

Linda Manna, owner of Newtown Country Mill on Route 302, has been a devotee of the primitive and antique Colonial decorating style her entire life. “I grew up in a Colonial home in New York,” said Ms Manna, “so it has always been in my blood.” Her love of the rustic style has been handed down to her daughter, Michelle Ferris, and incorporated into her 13-year-old business, where customers know they can find a wide selection of new and antique furnishings and accessories, as well as decorating advice, for their own Colonial homes.

Ms Manna is aware of the interest in primitive decorating as expressed by her customers. To that end, she has always offered her own expertise, and much of the furniture sold at Newtown Country Mill is handcrafted by her husband, Robert, from antique and original patterns. Ms Manna and her daughter do the decorative painting and crafted accessories, and Michelle and her husband, Brendan Ferris, also construct and paint smaller furniture items and signs that are sold in the store.

“For so many years, people have told me that my home should be in magazines,” said Ms Manna, and at last “Prim” lovers will have the opportunity to peek beyond Ms Manna’s business and into her home, as well as the home of her daughter.

Photographed in August for the second issue of the new magazine, A Primitive Place, Ms Manna’s and Ms Ferris’s homes, as well as Newtown Country Mill, are featured in the Winter edition of the quarterly publication, which became available the week of October 25.

“A Primitive Place is a wonderful new magazine,” said Ms Manna, “that gives people decorating ideas and suggestions, as well as craft ideas, not just photographs of decorated homes. It helps people to create their own ideas.”

Also included, said Ms Ferris, are furniture refinishing tips, and recipes that reflect a Colonial feel. “The great thing about A Primitive Place,” said Ms Ferris, “is that a lot of magazines have so much filler, and in this one, there are only two pages of website information at the end. The rest is strictly useful information and photographs.”

The women are very pleased with the outcome of the photo session by photographers Bonnie and Ashley Lucente, and Linda Rutman. “The photographs are of wonderful quality, and the publication is almost more like a book than a magazine. The nice thing, too, is that they photographed our homes exactly as we live in them,” said Ms Manna.

A Primitive Place is sold only at select sites around the country, including Newtown Country Mill in this area. It focuses exclusively on never-before-photographed homes. Subscriptions to the magazine are available by visiting aprimitiveplace.org.

As part of the Open House Weekend at Newtown Country Mill, Friday, November 19, through Sunday, November 21, customers can meet with the three A Primitive Place photographers, as well as marketing assistant Audrey Hanna, on Saturday, November 20, from noon to 3 pm, and have copies of the holiday A Primitive Place issue signed by the staff members. The magazine will be soliciting homes to be featured in upcoming issues of A Primitive Place, and customers who believe their homes may be suitable are invited to leave photographs with the magazine staff for consideration. Open House Weekend runs from 10 am to 5 pm all three days.

For more information, visit countrymillprimitives.com.