Dayton & Imbrie: A Nova Scotia-inspired childhood, painted in Chadds Ford

Sally Dayton, the artist behind the one-woman art and stationery brand Dayton & Imbrie, is an artist-in-residence at OsoSweet Bakery Cafe all November. Join her for a special meet-and-greet on Sunday, Nov. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the bakery.

All photos courtesy of Dayton & Imbrie

For many years of her childhood, Sally Dayton’s family traveled to Nova Scotia to spend summer days at a coastal cottage. There wasn’t much to do, and that blank canvas of time became the perfect space to foster her career as an artist.

At eight, she and her brother set up a stand in front of her family’s coastal cottage and sold seashells they had painted with local scenery. They didn’t make much money, but Sally fell in love with making something by hand that someone else adored. Into adulthood, she continued to create works of art to hang and hang out in other people’s homes and lives.

The quiet, coastal vibes of Nova Scotia still inspire Sally’s art today through her art and stationery brand, Dayton & Imbrie. No longer a painter of hand-collected seashells, she sells prints of her paintings as wall hangings and stationery, works with clients to design custom wedding stationery suites, and takes commissions. She’s created a tiny niche for a style she calls Tiny Things, a project that grew out of the pandemic doldrums into custom collections.

Sally runs her business out of her studio in Chadds Ford while drawing inspiration from fashion, travel, and her everyday surroundings. Recently, she shared that antique shops are a favorite spot to find dreamy color combinations. Her latest collection showcases themes straight from those Nova Scotia summers: fish, water, sailor hats, and the feel of a coastal fishing town that has been part of her life since she was a kid.

From retail floors to a Chadds Ford studio

Dayton grew up around Chadds Ford and moved back about a year ago after years in New York City. She studied psychology and studio art at the College of Charleston, then built a career in fashion and retail.

At Anthropologie, she started in the stores and moved into the company’s home office. She moved to Sam Edelman in New York, where she designed pop-up experiences, trade show displays, and merchandising. That background shapes how she runs her business today, from how she plans collections to how she sets up a market booth.

Twelve tiny things

Sally returned to painting during the pandemic, for the first time since college. Almost by accident, she painted a dozen things she liked from the Anthropologie website, arranged together on a single page, and posted it to Instagram.

Quickly, friends and followers noticed. Then they started asking if she could paint their things in tiny collections.

These custom commissions became her Tiny Things paintings. Clients gather a dozen objects, memories, or keepsakes that matter to them, and she paints them onto one page. They’re painted on archival watercolor paper and start at $250 plus shipping for the 8×10 size.

From oil to watercolor to gouache

Dayton started as an oil painter. Oil is slow to dry and hard to travel with, so she switched to watercolor for ease. Eventually she moved to gouache because it gave her brighter, bolder color than watercolor could.

Gouache (pronounced “gwash”) is often described as opaque watercolor. Like watercolor, it’s water-based, but it carries more pigment, so the color covers the paper instead of letting the paper glow through. Gouache creates a flat, velvety, matte color and lets you layer light tones over dark ones, which is hard to do in watercolor. This paint style gives her pieces a crisp, graphic look like a vintage illustration.

A name rooted in family history

The brand name, Dayton & Imbrie, is a family story. In 1875, her great-grandfather, Charles F. Imbrie, and his partner, L.H. Abbey, founded Abbey & Imbrie. The company became a well-known New York fishing tackle supply house.

Decades later, Dayton found the company’s old documents in her parents’ attic and was drawn to its logo, catalogs, and Americana style. In an ode to her great-grandfather and his company, she paired her own last name with his to name her modern brand.

Her work and where to find it

Sally left her corporate role and made Dayton & Imbrie her full-time work a couple of years ago. She releases three collections a year (fall, holiday, and spring), a cadence she picked up in retail. Each collection centers on a theme, so pieces mix and match well on a gallery wall.

While she keeps each of her original pieces, her collections include prints from her original paintings: art prints, cards, stationery, and framed pieces, mostly in 5×7 and 8×10. She also takes custom work, including hand-painted wedding stationery (invitations, save-the-dates, table cards, menus, and full suites), baby shower invitations, and custom illustrations.

Sally sells her work on her website, at in-person markets, and wholesale to shops. This month, you can also find her work on the walls at OsoSweet Bakery Cafe. Throughout November, Dayton & Imbrie is the artist-in-residence at our beloved local bakery. You can find a curated selection of framed art and prints hanging for sale.

To kick off the collaboration, OsoSweet owner Tess Wolford is hosting a meet-and-greet with Dayton on Sunday, Nov. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Grab a coffee, see the work, and meet the artist.

Dayton is putting the final touches on her holiday collection, which lands before Thanksgiving, in time for gift lists. You can also find her at Clover Market in West Chester on Nov. 21–22 and at Craftery Market in Doylestown on Dec. 12.

What Dayton most wants neighbors to know: she’s easy to reach. She loves hearing from people on Instagram and by email, and she loves turning their ideas into something on paper, whether that’s a Tiny Things painting, a wedding suite, or something else.

The kid with the seashell stand in Nova Scotia outgrew the sidewalk table. Now she’s sharing her work and meeting her customers at a much more upscale venue than a card table on the corner. 😉 And this time, there’s coffee and scones!

Find Dayton & Imbrie: daytonandimbrie.com · Instagram @daytonandimbrie · Custom inquiries at daytonandimbrie.com/contact