Monterey’s Regina Elaine Moran is in her happy place while digging into cubbies or attics at crowded estate sales off country roads. The lifelong collector of vintage housewares and clothing recently opened POSY Vintage & Craft at 16 Railroad Street in Great Barrington to showcase her unique finds.
An artist by trade, Moran is no stranger to aesthetic beauty. The Pittsburgh native is a graduate of New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology who has worked in the menswear industry for years. Moran’s resume also boasts two master’s degrees in art and education from Columbia University. However, teaching art history at Chicopee Comprehensive High School is her day job, at least for now.
“I’ve always been painting and making art,” she said. In 2022, Moran developed her studio—a red building at 34 Rosseter Street—into her first POSY shop, filling it with the products collected from decades of antiquing. A year later, she relocated the store to the Flying Church building at 198 Main Street, where the boutique remained until November 2024.
The store’s name derives from Moran’s artistic background, representing the posies (or flowers) she doodled. She loves the “fun, shortness of the word” that piques the interests of passersby.
Fast forward to March 29, the opening day at Moran’s new 1,200-square-foot venture, drawing scores of past clients as well as newcomers interested in finding out what the shop offered. “Lots of people on the block came in to say ‘hello’ and ‘welcome,’” Moran said.
Treasure hunting
For Moran, each 1960s flowered Pyrex dish or bold-print designer pantsuit spied within the aisles of her shop comes with a backstory, the result of her Midwestern and New England road trips and European treks. “I’m literally on the road anytime I can be, going to auctions, estate sales, and flea markets,” she said. Last year’s travels took Moran to Vienna and Berlin, points across the pond that spawned types of clothing not readily found in the U.S.
POSY is well stocked with items from the 2000s and older: books, kitchenware, jewelry, cookie jars, and glassware. The shop’s vintage women’s wear includes a range of sizes, while its menswear incorporates outfits that are a bit harder for Moran to find.
Products created by small, women-owned businesses, such as hand-poured candles from 1820 House Candle Company, are featured in a furniture piece. Moran’s artwork, her first love, is prominently displayed on the shop’s walls. Toward the back of the store lies the wedding section, which has already seen three brides scurry off with the gowns of their dreams.
The extensive Pyrex collection came from an old barn in upstate New York, the product of Moran’s ability to forage for treasures. “I dig and get dirty, and I go up in the attic and the basement,” she said of her instincts to find unique pieces in obscure places.
While attending an estate sale in Saratoga Springs, Moran climbed up to an area deep in the attic and “just started pulling things out” from what she described as a hoarding scene by the former resident. “Things were crumbling and falling apart,” she said. “Then I finally got all the way into [the back room of the attic] and found this really cool cookie jar with a little cookie jar on the top for the handle.”
Moran admits to having “favorites”—among them, the painted, enamel 16-inch Dru Holland pot that’s eye candy as shoppers enter the store. “I’ve never seen [a Dru Holland pot] that big, and I can’t even find another one to compare it to,” she said. “It’s a fun, interesting design. I love [Dru Holland cookware] in general, but that pot, to me, being that color and that size, is very special.”
A set of Austrian olive-green pots from the 1970s and a brand-new Catherineholm of Norway Enamelware Viking Fondue Set make customers’ hearts skip a beat. “It was completely wrapped in plastic; it has never been used before,” Moran said of the latter. “A woman brought it in and just said, ‘Here, do you want this for your store?’” Recently, she sold an arresting bar set featuring a locked ice bucket with bourbon, rye, and scotch bottles to customers from Boston.
For Moran, it’s all about that “heartwarming” moment when shoppers reflect on people or places when they come upon a piece that triggers a memory. They tell her, “This reminds me of my mom; she had these glasses,” or “This reminds me of my grandma.”
“There’s so much nostalgia, and people love to walk around and look at the things, even if they’re not necessarily going to buy them,” Moran said. “It feels good [for them] to be here and see things they grew up with.”
She constantly rotates the shop’s inventory, even bringing vintage items stored in her home. True to form, Moran’s house is a 1978 ranch-style Rambler, where everything is original— from the bathroom’s brown, randomly cut ceramic tile and gold accents to the kitchen’s Formica countertops, albeit the appliances are up to date.
Looking to the future
Ultimately, Moran hopes to retire from her teaching gig, filling her day by creating portraits and seeking vintage goodies for POSY. Moran’s daughter, Dune Rosario, minds the shop on weekdays (Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.). The store is also open on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
“I’m thrilled to be here,” Moran said. “[The Berkshires] has been a wonderful, welcoming community. I couldn’t be happier.”
As for Moran’s next shopping stop? The Paris flea markets. Stay tuned.
POSY Vintage & Craft can be found on Instagram or by calling 646-416-2652. Better yet, drop by the next time you are in Great Barrington and take a browse down memory lane.
