Disabled open Fancy Free arts store

People milled about the arts store on Main Street in Farmingdale on Monday, gazing at the glassware, jewelry, dog and other pet items, wall paintings and sewing items. It seemed like just another day in a retail shop.

And that's what the store's originators, Bethpage-based Family Residences and Essential Enterprises Inc., want shoppers to think. But the 1,875- square-foot store, Fancy Free, sells items made by people with mental or developmental disabilities.

And the point is business.

Monday was Fancy Free's opening day. The store will be staffed by six or seven people who participate in programs run by FREE or similar agencies. It will be open weekdays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The idea is to create a business and jobs, said Robert S. Budd, chief executive of FREE, which provides housing, educational and other services to the disabled.

"This is a vision we've had," Budd said. We want to take people's gifts and talents and "turn them into meaningful employment opportunities." Artists will be paid for the items they sell.

Lori Sirinoglu, a FREE coordinator, said the idea is to "turn away from day rehabilitation" programs and move toward more storefront-type operations. Most of the profits from Fancy Free will go back into buying materials; some will go to FREE to support its programs.

Artist Jason Churchill, 28, of Huntington, hopes to have his work shown and sold in galleries. What would he do with the money he made? "I'd go out and buy a car," he said.