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The Story

Welcome to Barefoot Cottage friends! I wanted to introduce you to one of the most special places you’ll hopefully visit one day.  Barefoot has quite a story of how it unfolded and I thought it was worth sharing how this beautiful thing came to be. 

Over 20 years ago, I visited the quaint downtown Newburgh Indiana riverfront with my sister who was relocating to the area. I absolutely, 100% fell in love with the community and home interiors store in the charming historic building at 101 State street. It was on the very steps inside that I whispered to my mother “When I grow up, I’m going to have a store just like this.”.  Fast forward a couple years later. I remember so vividly the important conversation I had with my high school guidance counselor asking the big question-what I wanted to do with my life-and I described my dream of owning my own retail store and offering Interior Design to customers. She smiled warmly and asked if I wanted to live in a major city. My response was a firm “I don’t think so…” which was followed by the big blow- “how important is job security or a steady paycheck to you?” With eyes wide open, she patted me out of her office, nursing school application in hand. She reminded me “Your mom is a nurse. Your Aunt is a nurse. Your cousin is in nursing school.” And so, off I went to nursing school-architectural design books in my backpack for those “just in case I have a spare moment between class” opportunities.  Fast forward again, this time 10 years later. I’m now a happily married high risk OB registered nurse, working away in Saint Louis, and supporting my little family of four as my husband made his way through Anesthesia school.

After some seriously challenging conversations we made the difficult decision to accept a position and relocate to a small town in Southern Illinois, where he would be a provider alongside his best friend. Did I mention this small town sits only an hour north of the quaint Newburgh I so fondly remembered? Purely coincidental to some. A year after the move and adding a third little boy to our tribe, I felt the internal nudge and encouragement from my amazing husband to do something outside the home to fulfill my own creative passion. From the time I was a little girl setting up my bedroom as a store front, to heading off to nursing school-I always kept the dream of owning my own beautiful store tucked deep inside. And now the opportunity was right on my doorstep as I conveniently, albeit super random, met another store owner who I instantly adored.  She suggested I open a small space on the second level of her store in Evansville, Indiana to take a baby step in and see if retail ownership could really work for my life (let me remind you of my three little boys at home.) Oh the logistics that I encountered.  I think that’s where our very common store motto “We’re learning everyday!” originated. Regardless, the store was a success, and from that tiny one room, we grew into two rooms. 

A year later, we majorly renovated and grew into our own space next door to The Slice Pizzeria, where so many long term customers found us. Two years later, on the drive home from the hospital where I had given birth to Sloane Martin, we made a quick stop to gaze at an even larger available retail space. A few months later, with a baby in Bjorn, we renovated a bigger space once again.  It was around this time that I had an unexpected and rare opportunity during a buying trip in Atlanta.  I ran directly into the owner of the quaint interior design store in downtown Newburgh that I loved so much. While we had never met face to face, and she had a reputation for being extremely no-nonsense, it was in that moment that I felt compelled to thank her for being such a beautiful inspiration in my life. She quietly listened and accepted my blubbering mess of appreciation and we parted ways. To put things into perspective, my current location and her beautiful store were now about 10 minutes drive apart. Things were humming along quite nicely at our current location and we were feeling very settled. A year and a half passed with an amazing group of people working together at the store. One November day, my mother was visiting the area. She always loved to visit the locally owned stores, especially during the holiday season.  So my mother, Sloane Martin, and I set out to see the neighboring shops. 

It’s now 20 years post my Mothers and my first visit to 101 State Street and my whispers on the steps of that same store. Only this time Sloane Martin and I stood on the steps.  I quietly whispered to my tiny 18 month old daughter, “One day, this is going to be mommy’s store.”  I’m not for sure why I whispered those words. There was no one around to overhear or even care, but I wanted her to hear.  Later that afternoon I returned to a busy holiday season afternoon at my own store, and received possibly the most interesting phone call of my life. A scattered sounding real estate agent on the other end was struggling to explain to me that she had information of a local business going onto the market that I needed to be informed of. As I thought of all the places I wouldn’t be interested in, I obliged her and said I’d sign the confidentiality statements when I could carve out time. Later that evening after handling all my daily tasks, I emailed over the paperwork. Moments later, the realtor called and nearly yelled “the owners of 101 State Street are selling and they want YOU to have the first opportunity to purchase the property!” Needless to say, I was shocked (and quite frankly still am to this day) and honored. We renovated the beautiful old building for 19 long months. It had been lovingly cared for, but had some massive structural issues that were looming in its future. When we opened the doors almost two years after the day Sloane Martin and I stood on the steps and almost 20 years after my mom and I stood on the same steps, our customers flooded in with the warmest and welcoming applause.  It has been one of the greatest full circle experiences that I believe I will ever get to have in life. I couldn’t be more thankful or appreciative that I’ve been given the opportunity. This place is special. This business is special, with amazing people behind the scenes at every turn. The customers we get to serve are special. It’s all a privilege that I’m so honored to be a part of. Thank you for being a part of my dream.

- Beth martin, OWNER