Not long after school let out in Montauk on Tuesday, two smiling young girls bounced through the doors of Poppy Heart, a sunny arts-and-crafts studio, toy shop, and artisans' gallery in the center of the hamlet. They dropped their way-too-heavy backpacks and threw their arms around Tiffany LaBanca, the shop's owner. Then they handed her a red envelope containing about $114 in bills and coins — money they had raised themselves to help Ms. LaBanca keep the shop's doors open.
The unexpected gift brought tears to her eyes, but Ms. LaBanca blinked them back to stay strong for the kids. "I keep telling them that Poppy Heart isn't a location. It's in my heart and all of your hearts," she said.
Across Montauk, young people are rallying around Poppy Heart, a haven, they say, for all things fun and creative. For some, it's even more than that — it's a safe space with a positive role model and mentor in Ms. LaBanca, formerly a summer resident who moved to the hamlet full-time during the pandemic. In the spring of 2021, she traded an international corporate communications career for small-business ownership, and tapped into her retirement savings to renovate and open the store.
Owing to a slower-than-anticipated summer and some real estate-related factors, Ms. LaBanca, who uses words like "fantabulous" and wears jeans and work boots covered with streaks of paint, has found herself looking for a new way to keep her business alive. In addition to the children's bake sales and other activities, a GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly $7,000 so far, which will be used to pay back rent and other expenses as the end of the year approaches.
In addition to fund-raising their hearts out, Poppy Heart's young patrons have made its owner a costume ahead of the store's big Halloween bash, on Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. Ms. LaBanca will wear a painted dress with a two-foot-tall, heart-themed headpiece, representing the spirit of the shop.
"We tell the kids, 'Let the adults worry about this. You are here to create and have the best time,'" she said.
Juliana Sheehan, an artist and friend who works at the shop, organized the GoFundMe campaign on behalf of Ms. LaBanca, whom she compares to "a cool aunt."
"I was intrigued as soon as it opened," Ms. Sheehan said this week. "There's not a lot of places to just go. It's like a WeWork place for artists. . . . It's really sweet. It's definitely a safe space, and a technology-free zone," where cellphones are tucked away in favor of hands-on activities.
For Gianna D'Agostino, a 16-year-old Ross School student from Montauk, Poppy Heart is more than a place to hang out and make art. Ms. LaBanca encouraged her interest in jewelry-making, made space in the shop for her to sell her beaded necklaces and handmade candles, and gave her a summer job.
The shop is "a staple in our community," Gianna said. "After the pandemic, the community was kind of lost, but this allowed us to be together as a whole." Ms. LaBanca "is a mentor and teacher — she's like another mother. It's a blessing . . . a really important part of living here."
The optimistic Ms. LaBanca is searching for another local storefront and also exploring such options as a mobile art van.
"The hardest part is, I can't tell the kids what's next," she said. "What form? We'll figure that out. I didn't start this to just ditch it when we hit bumps in the road."