A Maker’s Post becomes a community hub on Sullivan’s
Betsy Fuller (right) opened A Maker’s Post on Middle Street in 2022, where Vaughn Connolly (left) helps curate the eclectic shop full of local art, plants, and gifts.
When Betsy Fuller returned to Charleston in 2012 after a decade of global adventures, she didn’t plan to create a gathering place that would transform her relationship with her college town. But today, her shop, A Maker’s Post, is vital to the Sullivan’s Island community.
A College of Charleston graduate, Fuller spent years following the career of her husband, Wes, from Sydney to London to Solana Beach, California. When his company requested he return to the Lowcountry, Fuller, who had fallen in love with the West Coast, was hesitant. To her delight, she discovered a transformed Charleston that was more vibrant than she remembered. The couple settled on Sullivan’s Island, where Fuller developed deep connections. Her one irritation? She often had to leave the island for simple things. “I have four kids. I didn’t want to get in the car, and I didn’t want to leave the island for anything,” she says. “I wanted a local shop I could pop into when
I needed a gift, clean sunscreen, a coffee-table book, organic wine, or tennis balls.”
When Fuller’s youngest child started school, an opportunity arose to solve that vexation. The family wanted their beloved nanny, Vaughn Connolly, to remain close despite having less household work for her to do. “There wasn’t so much to do around the house anymore, but we wanted to keep Vaughn in our lives. So we opened the shop,” says Fuller.
A Maker’s Post was born on Middle Street in 2022. The inventory, which includes vacation necessities, plants, local art, and hundreds of delightful things you didn’t know you wanted, shifts with the seasons. Sustainability guides the shop’s approach to merchandise. The back room houses a plant section, where Fuller collaborates with the Charleston Horticultural Society and town naturalist Rebecca Fanning for educational talks. The store also offers plant services, such as home plant care and repotting.
Ceramics, photography, and paintings by local creatives, including Nathan Edwin McClements, Ryan Beck, Sam Sidney, and Isabel Bornstein, are prominently featured. Fuller often brings back finds from her travels while encouraging Connolly to source diverse items. Connolly describes their approach as “intuitive experimentation with intention,” explaining, “We’re shopping for all of the people that have ever walked through the door.”
Beyond retail, the store has become a community hub hosting events ranging from mahjong games and sourdough bread classes to art exhibits and private parties. In a short time, A Maker’s Post has transcended its role as a quirky convenience store to a friendly oasis for residents and visitors alike. “The shop is very welcoming and comfortable,” Fuller says. “Everyone who walks in loves it. There’s an epidemic of disassociation in the world right now, and here, there’s a sense of connection that’s so powerful. It’s not contrived, and that’s hard to find.”
And if you ever need tennis balls? Just ask. There’s always a stash behind the counter.
By the Numbers
■ 16: Local artists represented
■ 3: Years in business
■ 305: Unique gifts
■ 24: Events per year in the Green Room
