Upscale resale opens near Harbeson

After many years spent fulfilling her love of retail by setting up booths at fairs and antique shops, last October Kristi Betts made her hobby a little more official when she leased space and opened The Porch Upscale Resale and consignment shop in Harbeson.

Just a few doors down from the intersection of routes 9 and 5, Betts' new store is located in an actual porch next to Custom Framers.

Already, she said the rooms are filling fast with goods from as many as 14 regular sellers who make it possible for her to offer brand-name, gently-used clothing and jewelry along with other locally-made goods like seasonal jellies and re-purposed antiques.

Bett said already she's learning her weekend business is on some ladies' regular Saturday shopping routes.

"I try to keep it low-priced, but I only take high-end things," Betts said. "I have a couple ladies who come in every week. They claim they are addicted to it!"

Many of the new items she offers are made by local residents. Seasonal jams and jellies at the store are made by Stefani Larson, whose family owned a well-known produce stand in Dewey Beach for years. She stays involved by making her jams and jellies from local, seasonal produce all year long.

"A lot of people like them for gift giving," Larson said. "We have a lot of friends in common who will stop in to pick up my jams here."

The lamps, shelves and household accessories Chuck Greaves creates out of reclaimed wood from his property, the 19th-century Mansion Farm in Milton, are another example of the uniquely local items Betts offers at The Porch.

The little consignment shop is one of the first venues where Greaves has been able to sell his pieces since he bought the farm and began restorations in 2007. With most of the work now done, Greaves said he recently began to re-purpose some of the old wood from his historic farm.

"We are really far along into antiquing," Greaves said. "I think she has a good sampling of what I've been doing."

The Porch is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sundays, and by appointment for consignments. For more information, contact Betts at 302-258-7732 or search The Porch Upscale Resale on Facebook.