For Colleen Hofer, the vision for Market Lane was never a fleeting idea—it was a 20-year dream nurtured with patience and family support. “I’ve had the idea of a store living in my brain since I lived in San Francisco,” says Hofer, a former fifth-grade special education teacher who spent 15 years in the classroom before stepping away during COVID. “It was always something we referred to—just like, ‘When I have my shop.’” That long-held dream found its physical home at 164 Jessup Avenue in Quogue, inside a historic structure marked by a plaque out front identifying it as the original Quogue General Store.
That deep sense of heritage is woven into the boutique’s name, which pays homage to her grandparents, Betty and Bud, who bought a post-WWII home on Market Lane in Levittown and held it for nearly 50 years. To translate that sentimental warmth into a physical retail space, Hofer transformed a former office into an inviting, vintage-inspired sanctuary. Wrapped in Farrow & Ball’s Breakfast Room Green and topped with a dramatic House of Hackney brocade wallpaper on the ceiling, the interior evokes an iconic 1980s Ralph Lauren aesthetic—equal parts prep school and poetry. The historic location not only adds character but also connects visitors to local history, enriching their experience and fostering a sense of community.
Colleen Hofer surrounded by Janessa Leone sun hats; Il Bisonte leather bags fill an overstuffed armchair.
‘Dauntless by Johanna’ hand-painted ceramic vase in deep cobalt tones, finished with 22-karat gold leaf accents and inspired by traditional nautical scrimshaw.
A view of the boutique’s custom built-in cabinetry painted in Farrow & Ball’s Breakfast Room Green beneath a House of Hackney wallpaper on the ceiling.
Handcrafted decoupaged clam shells gathered from local beaches.
Market Lane founder Colleen Hofer and her husband, Adam, outside her Quogue boutique on Jessup Avenue.
The shop embodies a “collected, not decorated” ethos, blending preppy East Coast heritage with laid-back bohemian spirit. Her shelves are filled with authentic, story-rich finds: cult-favorite 1970s Italian leather bags by Il Bisonte, French Cire Trudon candles, Janessa Leone sun hats, Lulu Frost jewelry molded from original Plaza Hotel designs, and hand-painted pottery accented with 22-karat gold leaf inspired by nautical scrimshaw.
The ultimate labor of love, however, rests in Hofer’s handcrafted shell art. Sourced right from East End shores, found oyster, scallop, and clam shells are cleaned, painted, and decoupaged with graphic three-ply Caspari paper napkins before being sealed in a high-gloss epoxy resin. Supported by her husband, Adam, and her 15-year-old daughter who works alongside her, Hofer has cultivated a space where good design is ultimately about warmth, personal story, and the simple art of living beautifully.
