10-06-2022 4:35am

Maggpie--Building Unique Businesses and Their Community Too!

By Jane Stahl

Telling the story of Maggie Farrell and Jason Houck and their “Maggpie Market” will take awhile, so buckle up! There’s so much to tell. This magnetic, creative, energetic couple were determined to build both a business as unique as possible and a strong community—a “go to” place to enjoy with good friends.

Let me explain.

Maggpie Market Their warehouse and barn are filled with furniture and items they rent for events and weddings along the east coast. Once-upon-a-time they provided furniture for 10 weekend weddings. “We were younger then,” admits Jason.

They can provide sofas, loveseats, side chairs, coffee tables, rugs, pillows and ottomans, all styles of tables, benches, and bars. And Maggie affirms that “Weddings are still happening!” Supplying weddings is the main pillar of Maggpie Market’s business model.

Maggpie Market sells unique furniture that Jason designs and builds. The warehouse is full of it. At one point, the rental division demanded inventory, so Jason became a furniture maker. He’s made bars, coffee tables, cocktail and bistro tables and over 100 dining tables available now for purchase that have “attended” hundreds of parties and events. “Build pieces” are available for custom orders. Just ask.

Maggpie Market is a retail shop they’ve created in a portion of the warehouse. The shop is filled with natural decorative items: baskets, textiles, and more--items found during their travels, purchased wholesale, and/or handmade.

“I admit it; I’m obsessed with baskets, and one of these days I should probably learn to make at least one,” Maggie admits. The shop also includes candles, art and prints, coffee and tea, soaps, stationery, bags and totes, blankets and lip balm—for example.

Maggie encourages a visit to the shop: “Now through Christmas is the time to visit!” When you do visit, you’ll find baskets from floor to ceiling. It’s true. The ceiling of the shop is made of bamboo privacy fencing from the neighborhood home improvement store.

Maggpie Market hosts weekend Yoga retreats on their property that is tucked into a hillside on South Grims Mill Road, off Route 73 west of Boyertown. They’re hosting a fall fest on October 15 and 16, 2022, and a wellness retreat in November 2022.

Maggpie Market invites friends on alternate Thursday evenings to hang out together, work on a craft or project around one of Jason’s tables, and share stories from their lives. Maggie admits, “I didn’t want to turn all my hobbies into a business, and the wedding event business is not one where you develop long-term relationships with clients. It’s a once-and-done business. But I like people and needed to figure out a way to inspire 'repeat customers,' to build a community of friends, so I invite them—just to chat, work on their projects—embroidery, wall hangings, beadwork, paper crafts—have some coffee or tea together, and enjoy a relaxing evening.”

Maggpie Market has a vision of turning the existing cottages on their property to charming Air B&B's, the barn into an event space for small weddings, and of hosting more weekend retreats with food trucks and music. There seems no end to the unique plans for adding to the pillars of the business and for adding levels of relationships within their community.

How do folks find them? Through word-of-mouth and social media, they have developed a network that supports them and expands their reach. They maintain friends from their college years in Philadelphia where they met and where they relocated their first furniture rental business to avoid travelling from Scranton, the home of their first business begun in 2009. Jason shares, “Four years of that journey several times a week was tough.”

Their years in Philadelphia—2013 to 2017—left them with memories of good people who helped them navigate and survive the tough neighborhood they landed in from Scranton. Jason offers, “We needed the warehouse space and could afford it in that particular location but it became more dangerous, frankly." Leaving Philadelphia 5 years ago to escape the high-crime area and ending up in the Boyertown area has been part of their evolution and, they agree, part of their luck.

Maggie explains, “We drew a circle around Philly that represented a one-hour drive in any direction. Boyertown was on the outskirts of that circle. The warehouse was an old milk processing warehouse, but we knew we had to make it work. Jason did the renovation, and we couldn’t be happier.”

“We always wanted to be more than a furniture company; we want to make a community where our generation has a stake, a voice, a spot to make a difference—to build a community they want to live in,” Jason adds. “And so, at our 5-year mark in Boyertown, having observed the dynamics and personalities who were leading Building a Better Boyertown at the time, we met others who were eager to be involved. It was time to change.”

Jason currently serves as the president of the non-profit organization Building a Better Boyertown, a Pennsylvania Main Street project dedicated to revitalizing small towns. Board member Theresa Heist has commented on the infusion of energy, positive direction, and problem-solving style that characterize the monthly meetings under his leadership, saying, “Things are getting done. It’s refreshing.”

Maggie coordinates Building a Better Boyertown's bi-weekly Evening (Farm) Market that runs from spring to late fall in her quest for having fun and building local friendships.

Maggpie: it's a happy place. You gotta see it; it will take your breath away! And you’ll come away with a couple of new friends.

You can follow Maggpie on Instagram (@Maggpiemarket) for updates; or if you're curious as to what the rental side is up to, follow @Maggpie_co.

If you are interested in shopping Maggpie Market, head over to their website and send them an email.

Listen to Maggie and Jason on the "B Inspired" podcast with Jane Stahl on your favorite podcast platform.

[Click on the photograph and scroll through the collection of images.]

Sign-up to receive our free daily newsletter, and have the latest headlines and features from The Boyertown Area Expression delivered daily to your inbox.