The Art of Upcycling

A gentle breeze ruffles the leaves of trees that offer shading respite all around the old farmhouse in northwest Marion County that was crafted from fieldstones, natural woods and the sweat of some brothers from Germany.

This home has harbored people from many walks of life, including farmers, artists, chefs and now, a trio of Renaissance women who are nurturing the spirit of creativity that is innate to the edifice itself as well as its surrounding pastoral acres.

Kim Smith is the matriarch of the clan. She was born in New Jersey but was raised in Hancock, Maine and the Provence region of France. Her warm smile, strong hands and lilting voice offer clues to her background as a world traveler, professional chef, lifelong horsewoman and now, upcycling artist. She and her husband, Peter, a retired farrier, arrived in Ocala for good 13 years ago.

The couple have a son, Travis, 43, who is still in Maine. Daughter Miranda Smith, 41, with her husband, Marco, spends part of each year in Ocala with her StallDash Equine Concierge business; and daughter Colby De Sales, 34, lives nearby with her husband, Chris, and their son Arthur, and helps her mother on the farm.

Smith says of their Ocala connection, that when Colby was being homeschooled in high school, the family would “load up the RV and her horse would get shipped down and we would winter here and had a group of friends.” Their extended family ran two restaurants in Maine and they had a food truck they would bring south “for the horse community.”

It was 13 years ago that Kim found the farmhouse on social media.

“And I told my husband I was moving,” she says firmly, with a hint of a grin.

“He had a stipulation, because you were kind of done with the snow and he said he had been born and raised in the same city in New England so it would a hard move for him,” Miranda offers, looking fondly at her mother, “but if you could find an older home with character that gives you that New England charm, he would be willing to relocate and then this popped up—and it’s magic.”

Kim explains that the farm originally spanned 100 acres and was one of the largest in the area at the time, which she surmises was a century ago.

“Some German brothers, when they came here from the war, they obviously needed to work, they needed the money, so it was a functioning farm,” she shares. “I know they used to take their horse and carriage along Germantown Road to go to church, which is over by the Roberts quarter horse farm. That’s a hike. I spoke with one of the great nephews and he said he remembers stories of them living with a dirt floor, so that’s a ways back.”

She does not know the complete history of who lived in the house over time, but “before us was a very cool artist couple who painted the blues and did all the cool things and had the milk house as an art studio.”

Today, the property, which now covers 10 acres, includes the old farmhouse, the free-standing milk house, an original animal enclosure that has been added to, a chicken coop, an area for gardening, a workshop and plenty of space for Kim’s polo horses and three rescued canines.

The grounds were also the site, for about four years, where Kim and her family would host intimate dinners under the Vintage Farm Company 1848 brand.  

“We thought it was interesting how this original farm was a homestead out of necessity and over the years, it was used by other creative people who were creating art, but also the original homesteaders were creating things like food and dairy products,” Colby notes. “And we grew up in the kitchen and the restaurant industry so once my mom moved on to this property, she was cooking and sharing that with the community and that was kind of her creative outlet. And then when COVID happened, everything changed but we still needed a creative outlet and I think this farm, it really nurtures creative people; it just has that kind of energy.”

“We did some yoga with the horses. Now, we’ve started to upcycle thrifted clothing and do some different designs. I think that post-COVID, a lot of people are getting more into sustainability and homesteading and gardening and cooking things from scratch again,” Miranda adds. “It’s about saving money and getting back to the roots of what this farm originally was 90 years ago.”

Since the chefs are no longer hosting their famous dinner parties, “We just flipped the page to sewing,” Kim offers.

When Miranda says she can’t remember a time in their lives when sewing was evident, Kim pipes up to say, “Well, I think I glue-gunned somebody’s christening gown.”

She also notes that she saw some upcycled jeans on social media, priced at around $650 a pair, “and I then I was like, ‘I’m just going to get a sewing machine!’”

The Milk House Studio brand was born out of her creative itch, but also in homage to “slow fashion.”

“I didn’t realize the impact that fast fashion has on the environment, on women, their hormones,” she shares. “All the synthetic fibers are hormone blockers—polyester, spandex, are all plastic, so you’re leaching more plastic, which is already bad, and there’s so many women Colby’s age who are having hormonal issues. So, we started sourcing slow fashion—linen, cotton, leather.”

A glance at a clothing rack inside the Milk House Studio reveals beautiful denim jackets upcycled with insets of lace or bright fabrics. A pair of blue jeans has been turned into a chic skirt.

“Just yesterday, I was working in the mulch and Colby calls and says, ‘I’m shopping, can you put these two scarves together and make me a shirt?’ I said, ‘I don’t know, I’ve never done this before.”

With that, Colby stands to model the stunning new blouse her mother has crafted for her.

Kim says they all are always on the look for classic brands, such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Ann Taylor, “because they would have used the real material and those things are still there, they’re not melting or wearing out.”

After Kim, an avid player with The Villages Polo Club, made a hand painted vintage denim shirt with the word POLO on it and wore it to a chukker, she came back with an order for nine more.

“Those will be on shirts for a team prize for polo in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, so that’s cool,” she says.

Among the ways they upcycle fashions is to blend fabrics. For example, Kim bought a tie-dyed cotton shower curtain and is using panels from it as insets onto the backs of denim jackets and in other ways. She also adds touches of lace, buttons and other adornments, hand paints and uses ink stamps.  

She says of one hand painted piece she did, “A friend sent me a picture of a Ralph Lauren jacket for $4,500 and I was like, ‘Oh I think we could go down to $4,300 on something like that. I’ve also gotten a couple of clients who say here’s my budget and they’ll send me a Pinterest board and I’ll just go find it for them.”

“Most upcyclers never sewed before, she adds, so there really aren’t any rules. I put stuff on the mannequin and leave it there and then I change it, then leave it there and then I send a photo to Colby and Miranda,” she explains about her creative process. “The first shirt I did, I sent it to my sister. She went on a world cruise and there was a picture of my shirt in Instanbul and other locales and she shared them with some friends in a jewelry group and they all wanted shirts or jackets.”

Kim and company also offer “smalls” through the Milk House Studio, which are antique items, pottery items that often are signed by the artist and more.

“People should be able to afford nice things that have some meaning, so we offer them for $15 or $20,” Kim states. “In thrifting in a thoughtful way, I call it dopamine décor”

She also notes that among the treasures in her home are a collection of wall hangings of French women in “city costumes” that were part of the décor in her grandmother’s restaurant in Provence.

“There are certain things that you end up with that just make you happy to look at; it keeps things calm,” she offers. “Colby’s house has stuff from my mother’s three houses or my two houses.”

Now, as the season winds down for The Villages Polo Club, Kim will give her Argentinian ponies a break, which will give her more time to be creative. That means she and Colby will tackle some renovations to the old farmhouse, but not in any way that distills its unique spirit. After all, the ancient fieldstones and hardwood floors have been harboring creatives for decades, so why temp fate.

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