Marcy Boroff: Crafting a career renaissance

One of the reasons I love living in Philadelphia is its close proximity to so many other places.

A 45-minute drive east takes you to the beach, travel west to Lancaster and you’re transported to another time, and go north and you hit New Hope, the PTown of Pennsylvania. A number of small cities around the area have also recently become destination spots, including historic Haddonfield, N.J., a quaint little city that is hosting a big arts festival this weekend. Haddonfield has been chosen by Philadelphia Magazine and South Jersey Magazine as one of the best places to live in the Delaware Valley, and Courier Post readers have voted it as having the “Best Downtown Shopping Area.” This week, we spoke to Marcy Boroff, owner of Renaissance Craftables, the company that is responsible for producing the Haddonfield Crafts and Fine Art festival July 12-13.

PGN: Are you from Jersey? MB: No, I’m originally from King of Prussia. I live in Mount Airy now with my wife, Maria, and our 15-year-old daughter, Hannah. Maria and I have been together for 18-plus years but we just recently got married legally in Haddonfield, N.J. I work in Haddonfield and I love it. Trish, the former mayor, performed our legal ceremony, which was really nice. It’s such a welcoming and friendly city.

PGN: So, growing up in K of P, did you work at the mall? I grew up in the area and I think it’s a requirement that everyone works there at some point or another! MB: I did! I worked at Macy’s my senior year of high school.

PGN: Ha. I worked there too. So what was your experience in the suburbs? MB: I had a normal childhood, two sisters. We went camping in the summer, school in the fall. I went to Upper Merion. I didn’t come out until my 20s.

PGN: I went to Radnor, so I think you were one of our rivals! MB: Really? I don’t remember, it was so long ago. I can barely remember what I had for breakfast.

PGN: Were you more into sports or books? MB: I was on the crew team but I wasn’t athletic. We were one of the few high schools that had a team and anyone could join. You didn’t have to try out. It kind of changed my life because it gave me something to do other than academics. I’m not coordinated but it was a lot of fun.

PGN: I would think rowing was a sport that required a lot of coordination to all be on the same page. MB: It does, but at that time no one had heard of the sport, so they took anyone who was interested. We were a bunch of misfits. I’m sure it’s different now that the sport has become popular. Most schools have teams now and you probably have to try out like you did in field hockey or basketball.

PGN: Did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? MB: I think I always wanted to be involved in social change and I was for many years. I worked in policy and public health. I worked for the school district until about seven years ago when I decided to make a career change. I went into the family business promoting craft shows and festivals. Having a teenager, the opportunity to own my own business and have a more flexible schedule appealed to me.

PGN: What did you do in the schools? MB: I worked on access to health care and social-service issues with nurses and doctors and counselors. Oh, I almost forgot! After Policy 102 — which was the nondiscrimination policy passed in the ’90s — they needed someone to do training on the needs of LGBT youth. [Laughs] I think they said, “Look, there’s the pregnant lesbian. Let’s see if she’ll do it.” Because I was openly gay, they knew that I would understand the importance of it and take it seriously. I also got to do additional training with teachers that wanted to sponsor Safe School Ally programs. See, there are more gay things in my life than I realize.

PGN: Shows you the power of being out. MB: Well, I was pregnant and I think it would be hard for people not to know I was out at that point.

PGN: Really? I would think being pregnant would make people assume you were straight. MB: Well, for me being pregnant is a time when you talk about your family. My daughter always had many gay and lesbian teachers and it’s always been easier for them to talk and relate to their students when they were out. When they could openly talk about their partner or family instead of having to change pronouns or fudge the truth. For example, on her first day of ninth grade at Central, the teacher said, “Hi, my name is Miss Ellen. Did anyone have Miss Callen last year? She’s my wife.” And the kids just said, “Oh, yes. We know her.” Teachers tend to talk about families and, if she’d had a husband at the school, the kids would have known about it too. So being pregnant, I naturally spoke about my family to people. There was a school police officer who I’d see all the time. I remember him asking me how I was doing and if my husband was excited for the new baby. There was a moment when I hesitated, wondering if I should correct him or just let it go. Then I thought, I have a kid, I can’t ever be closeted again. Because I don’t want that child to ever hear me hesitate. So I replied, “Oh no, I don’t have a husband, I have a partner, Maria, you’ve met her before.” And he just said, “Oh, that’s so nice.” It didn’t even faze him. That signaled to me how easy it was to come out and talk to people when I was pregnant. It was just natural to do so.

PGN: I get it now. How did you initially come out? MB: Through books. I was reading a lot and found some books with lesbian characters that I found myself drawn to. I didn’t read books like “Rubyfruit Jungle” that were about a gay person; they were characters who were just part of the community. I think I became more intellectually attracted to women before I realized it was something more. Maria, my wife — who is standing here so I will mention her several times — is my first girlfriend. But I was totally out before we started dating. I’d moved to Baltimore for grad school and joined the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and Women’s Space because I wanted to meet gay people. I was hanging out with Maria and a group of women for about six months before we started dating. And now we’re legally married. How about that?

PGN: It’s fabulous! Tell me about Renaissance Craftables. MB: Talk about family … My mom started the business about 28 years ago on a suggestion from my sister, Joan. Both my sisters and I would help out at shows. When my mom retired seven years ago, I took over, but my mom still comes to the shows and helps out. My daughter does some of my database work and helps out too, so it’s a true family business. We do about seven or eight shows in the area including the craft portion of the Midtown Village Festival and the Italian Market Festival. Haddonfield is the biggest and it takes about 12 months to plan. I’m already thinking about 2015! [Laughs] And back when Equality Forum was called Pridefest, my mother used to do SundayOUT! so we’ve always been a gay-friendly business even before I was the owner/operator.

PGN: What are some of the considerations when putting on a show? MB: The weather, of course; you don’t want it cold and rainy, but you also don’t want it scorching hot. We also have to work with the police and the borough, trash department, etc. The folks in Haddonfield are wonderful about that, they really enjoy and cooperate with us. A big consideration is getting an interesting mix of crafters and artists, making sure you have some new people each year, as well as the returning artists who come back year after year. You don’t want people to see the same thing every year, but you also don’t want them disappointed that their favorite artist isn’t there. You need to create a balance. It’s such a competitive show to get into that there are a lot of decisions to be made. There are so many wonderful artists who apply and I can’t accept everyone.

PGN: I’d imagine you have some interesting things in your home. What’s your favorite? MB: I try to buy most of my gifts from the craft shows, in part to support local artists but also because you can find such great, unique things at the shows. One piece in our house is from an artist named Sean Brady who does these cool life-size wire sculptures. We got one that has three people hugging because we thought it represented our family. When we first got it, Hannah was about 10 so she was the shortest, then she was in between us, so we changed her to the middle figure; now she’s the tallest. We keep having to change who we are in the statue lineup!

PGN: Back to your marriage, I understand your ceremony was at a local landmark. MB: Yes! We got married at Reading Terminal Market Dec. 22! It was amazing. We had a Jewish ceremony officiated by my Uncle Robbie. The chuppah, as kismet would have it, was right under the Hershel’s Deli sign. The reception was held in the main seating section of the terminal and featured some of the best food stalls of the market.

PGN: I love the theme I saw: “Sit where you want — Eat what you want.” MB: That was Maria. Yes, it was fun. We had family from all over — aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, everyone. A good time was had by all here in the city! On the morning of the wedding, I went on a walk with some friends from Michigan from the Kimpton at Independence Hall, where we were staying, up to Kelly Drive, down Boat House Row and over to La Colombe for coffee. It was the perfect way to start the day of my wedding.

PGN: Do you still do social-service work? MB: I help with an organization called The Friendship Circle. They work with special-needs teenagers and pair them with teen volunteers to help the kids develop friendships. Once a week, the teen volunteer will visit with someone who has autism or Down Syndrome and just hang out with them for a hour or two. Over the weeks and months, they really start to develop friendships. It’s a great program and Maria is a consultant for their fundraising walk. PGN: Does she do event planning too? MB: Yes, but her main job is development director for Women in Transition. She also has a candy-buffet business. We both have our fingers in many different pots.

PGN: A candy-buffet business? MB: Yes! She and a friend have a business called Art + Candy and they do candy buffets, centerpieces and take-home trinkets, etc. They did a candy buffet for our wedding and our daughter’s bat mitzvah.

PGN: Cool. Now for some random questions. Is there a color you like to wear? MB: I’m going to go with black and purple.

PGN: The best gift you ever gave? MB: Oh, I have three gifts that I’m giving to some neighborhood friends for graduation but I don’t want to say what it is in case they read this!

PGN: Any pets? MB: I have a dog named Sealer. We adopted him from our friend Eli, who was going to graduate school and couldn’t take care of him. He named him that because he kind of barks like a seal. [Demonstrates] Rowl! And he’s brown with short hair so when he curls up, he looks a little like a seal or sea lion.

PGN: Ever been in an accident? MB: Uh, I’ve been in a couple. The first time was five days after I got my driver’s license. I stopped short and got into a fender bender. It was embarrassing.

PGN: First or favorite book as a kid? MB: “Go, Dog. Go!” by P. D. Eastman.

PGN: So what should people expect at the show this weekend? MB: Something for everyone: beautiful pottery, jewelry, artwork, glass work, hand-made soap, everything from kids’ toys to engagement rings. The theme is functional art, which means wearable art like clothing or functional art like wooden tables. We have a person who takes old books and makes them into journals, an artist who makes incredible bird houses, another who makes tables out of wine barrels. We have some great gay crafters too. Rona Fisher is an amazing jeweler and her partner Emily works with her. Patrick Michael makes beautiful handbags and several others. All together there are going to be over 300 artists/crafters. There are great restaurants in Haddonfield too, so you can make a day of it. Rain or shine.

For more information, visit www.renaissancecraftables.com.

To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email [email protected].

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