A small but impossible-not-to-notice sign adorns the threshold at Peace of Wood, the unique gallery and “feel good store” at 1112 Asbury Ave.
“Be peaceful or BE GONE!!” the sign tells all who enter. That’s right, peace…with an attitude. “We call it aggressive happiness,” says business co-owner Kristina Young, with a laugh. It’s not a hard concept to enforce. Upon entering the space on a recent afternoon, a visitor was greeted with reggae music, art objects of almost every description (and even a few that defy description), surfboards, skate equipment, and the most important product: good vibes.
Young started up the business this spring with her husband Marshall. “The vision was to embody our passions: surf, skate, art, teaching and kids,” said Kristina, a former elementary school teacher. She had become disenchanted with the way public education was headed, with an emphasis on achieving higher test scores. “All of the creativity was being sucked out, which was the part about teaching that I enjoyed the most. I began thinking about a business.”
Kristina had always enjoyed working on artistic pieces, and one day Marshall encouraged her to use pieces of reclaimed wood as a “canvass.” “It was a therapeutic outlet,” she said. “I just loved painting and listening to music.” Then a funny thing happened. Her pieces began to sell. Living in Brigantine at the time, she and Marshall would sit outside their house, create their art and sell it to random passers-by.
Eventually, the idea to open a gallery/store came to pass. “We would not even be here if it weren’t for my husband,” Kristina said. “He encouraged me (to go for it.) He said ‘There’s nothing stopping us from doing whatever we want.’”
Peace of Wood emerged from the couple’s vision and transitioned seamlessly into the Ocean City art, surf, vacation and good-times culture. But it wasn’t an overnight success.
During summer, 2015, Kristina made a “gone surfing” wooden sign and gave it to Greg Beck, co-owner of the Surfers Supplies shop in town. Beck liked it so much he suggested selling them in his shop. The couple produced about 10 more of the signs and eventually launched an on-line presence at etsy.com, a marketplace for handmade items, craft products and art.
Eventually, with the items selling, the couple made the decision to launch a store. Kristina said she was surprised at how quickly locals and vacationers alike embraced the concept.
“It was great,” she said. “I didn’t expect we would have taken off as quickly, but it has really been a fun experience. One of the things that helped was keeping prices on the art reasonable. We don’t want people to see a piece they like but have to walk away because they can’t afford it. We want the art here to be accessible.”
With the season over and school year getting into full swing, Kristina branched out with a new service offered out of the location: The School of Peace After School Program. The NJ certified teacher offers tutoring, homework assistance mentoring, craft and painting sessions, and more. The cost is $25 per session or $100 per week and runs from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays.
Thus, Peace of Wood not only offers unique products and services to Ocean City, it provides a creative outlet for Kristina and Marshall Young.
For more information, contact the Youngs at peaceofwoodocnj@gmail.com or call 609-938-9068. Or visit the Peace of Wood Facebook page.
