The Story Behind the Shop
In 2016, Liberty Head Arts & Found co-owners, Marty Rowe, Morgan Rowe, and Maggie McGaw lost their son, brother, and father, Sandy McGaw, to a motorcycle accident.
Sandy came to Maine in the mid 1990's to work at Wayfarer (now Lyman Morse) Marina in Camden, though in the last years of his life he'd largely stepped away from the boating world to focus on art & antiques.
"If they could talk!"
Sandy was just becoming known for his sculptures which centered around small, hand carved heads, some whimsical, others with expressions somewhere between startled and agonized, all of them intriguing.
At the same time, Sandy and his mom, Marty, had become bosom flea-market buddies stocking their small store in Lincolnville over friendly squabbles about who saw what first.
Sandy at Rhubarb
One of their favorite haunts was Liberty Tool Company and the small shop across the way owned for a few years by Sandy's sister-in-law, Darcy, called Rhubarb.
After Sandy's sudden departure, Morgan moved to Maine to be closer to the family; she discovered that Maine winters are perfect for painting and writing, when she isn't traipsing through the countryside with Marty looking for flea market treasures.
Maggie, meanwhile, is finding creative inspiration in Sandy's original designs bringing them into her jewelry and sculptural work. Marty spends the wintry days creating found object mosaics entrenched in colors and themes beloved by her second son.
So it was that when Rhubarb came up for sale in August 2017, Marty, Morgan, and Maggie knew they had no choice but to buy it and set up shop; it was the fitting way to celebrates the creative spirit of the whole family, including Sandy, and their shared passion for treasures lost and found. After Covid, the team decided to move closer to home on the coast and have taken the inspiration and charm back to Atlantic highway in beautiful Lincolnville, Maine.
Getting the keys and celebrating with good friends and family: Tim, Ed, Morgan, Mac, Margaret, Maggie, Marty, and Laura!
They've expanded the circle by inviting folk artists from near and far whose work embodies the kind of joy, whimsy, and independent style that made Sandy's work so unique and wonderful. And always close at hand are Sandy's son, Mac, his wife, Margaret, and a clan of people who will always share in the magic of tiny shops filled with hidden treasure!