Marina & Co.: Homesteading in Philomont
Written by Diane Helentjaris | Photos by Gracie Savage
The right person in the right place at the right time can be magical. Marina Wilson wants to be one of those people. She’s hoping her new homesteading supply shop in Philomont, Marina & Co., will generate more than sales. “My biggest, biggest desire is to bring a real sense of community,” she says.
Marina & Co. opened in October 2024. Like many other small independent stores, it offers locally crafted artisan works. Handmade leather purses, tea cozies, organic dog biscuits, chocolate, beeswax candles, and honey tempt shoppers; pink Depression glassware, used books, and ephemera harken to days gone by.
But there’s more to Marina & Co. than its vintage matchbooks and local home goods. It has a mission. At 69 years of age, Wilson could have chosen to spend her retirement on hobbies or travel. Instead, she has doubled down on her desire to serve her community. She wants her store to be helpful for those looking to do more for themselves and be self-sufficient.
To that end, she emphasizes sustainable, useful goods made with “the least environmental impact possible.” Tools, copper scrubbing pads, seeds, organic chicken feed, and cleaning supplies share shelf space with other discretionary offerings. On a snowy day, picturesque bundles of split logs for fireplaces cluster on the porch. This year, Marina & Co. will serve as a CSA drop-off location for Chilly Hollow Farm’s non-GMO, organically grown produce. Customers will be able to pick up their fresh vegetables and flowers at the shop.
Wilson is also putting together a panoply of classes and groups. There’s a book club and a gardening club, and planned classes will tackle topics such as creating sourdough starter, making elderberry syrup, gardening, and more.
Wilson’s track record makes her a good candidate — the right person — to strengthen neighborly bonds. Her shop sprang from the cauldron of the COVID pandemic. It was a time of peril to not only lives, but also community and the shared sense of fellowship with others. She taught a sewing class during the pandemic to women who had never used a sewing machine. It made her realize that people wanted to increase their skills, raise their own food, make their own bread, and help their neighbors. They “had a real craving for this,” she says. She contemplated how she might spend her retirement to help fill this need. Marina & Co. is the result.
Wilson lost her own community at a young age. A Greek Cypriot, she and her family fled their home island of Cyprus during its Civil War. They settled in England, which explains Marina’s soft British accent. “Greek culture is in my sinew, my bones,” she shares. “If asked, it’s so very Greek the way I just mother, nurture, and care.”
During the American Bicentennial in 1976, Wilson came for a visit. With a $10 Greyhound bus ticket, she set off on a cross-country ramble. From New York, she bused to Vancouver, then down to California, and finally back east.
She spent six weeks at The Farm, a prominent “intentional community” or commune in Tennessee. Founded by Stephen and Ina Gaskin, the experimental living situation was dedicated to nonviolence.
Ina Gaskin had personally experienced two traumatic births. She transformed those experiences into advocacy for a more natural, humanistic birthing experience for mothers. Gaskin became a leader in midwifery and the home birth movement. Later, Wilson would spend years managing a midwifery group. The Farm’s emphasis on respect for the earth echoes in Wilson’s promotion of items with low environmental impact.
Wilson returned to England but was drawn back to the U.S. On her second visit, she fell in love, married, and stayed. For the past 33 years, she’s made Philomont her home and raised her seven sons and three daughters there.
Wilson describes life with her family in Philomont as idyllic with “idealistic” residents. The “precious families out there were of extreme capabilities.” Her children, now all adults, grew up “in a little dream world.” They worked on local farms and vineyards and helped babysit. She recalls with a laugh the time one son drove local girls to prom. They came across a horse that had escaped its pasture. Ignoring their fancy dresses, the girls clambered out of the car, got the horse squared away, and then went on to their dance. Her son declared, “These women can do anything!”
Wilson has chosen a convenient and historic spot for her new business in Philomont. The 1890s Victorian, known as the Upper Store or Van Sickler’s Store, is graced by an inviting porch overlooking Philomont Road. Marina & Co. occupies the first floor, and a tenant rents the second. Next door is the Philomont Community Center and down the street is the Philomont General Store.
Dean Bishop, the current proprietor of the Philomont General Store, described Van Sickler’s Store in a 2022 article for Wander Magazine as playing “an unmatched role in ensuring the stability of the village.” Beginning in the 1890s, John B. Van Sickler ran his store there in competition to the Philomont General Store. By 1907, Van Sickler was no longer in business, but when the Philomont General Store was struck by lightning and burned down, they joined forces to maintain operations. In 1917, fire struck the village again. This time, the elementary school burned down, so classes moved into Van Sickler’s Store. Wilson notes that the building also served as “an apothecary” and, more recently, as an Airbnb.
Folks are rooting for Marina Wilson. When asked what she would like people to know, she doesn’t hesitate, saying that in the name “Marina & Co.,” the “company” is the people of the community. Right now, she’s busy making sure there will be fresh coffee and baked goods on hand. She’s looking forward to welcoming everyone to her shop. ML
Marina & Co.
36610 Philomont Road
Purcellville, Virginia 20132
(540) 338-2074
marinaandco.net
Published in the February 2025 issue of Middleburg Life.