Meet local moms Ashley Prymas and Janet Little, founders of The Little Plucky in New Canaan. These two friends and avid art enthusiasts had a dream of owning a store filled with sophisticated, whimsical and everything in between art and decor sourced globally and locally. In 2022, they made it happen. Read more about Ashley and Janet’s store, their families, what they love about town, and their focus on supporting female artists and their careers.
How many children do you have and what are their ages?
Ashley: I have one son, Holden, who will graduate from The Lawrenceville School this year!
Janet: I have 3 children, Allie, 29, Cassidy, 25 and Ryan, 18.
What brought you and your family to town?
Ashley: I actually grew up in Darien and decided to make the big leap from Darien to New Canaan! After living in New York City for years, like many young couples with young children, we decided to look for a town that had more space for our family to grow. New Canaan is not only idyllic in its beauty and charm, but also has a great deal of culture. That was important to me as someone who has worked for museums for my entire professional career. My husband loved that he could just park the car in town and walk from one lovely shop to another.
Janet: After growing up in Kansas, then living many places in the subsequent 30 years, from the Midwest to Los Angeles and then Geneva, Switzerland as expats for five years, we landed in New Canaan in 2014. My husband was working in Stamford and NYC, so we looked for a home in Fairfield and Westchester counties. We fell in love with New Canaan’s quaint downtown and bucolic countryside.
What’s your favorite aspect about being part of the community?
Ashley: As new shop owners in town, we have really felt the community’s support. There really is a collaborative feeling and genuine caring in helping each other thrive.
Janet: New Canaan is truly an artsy community. I nurture my creative spirit at Silvermine Arts Center, and with the modern architecture it is famous for, as well as the live music around town, we feel so at home on Elm Street with our pretty little art store!
What’s your favorite family activity to do in the area?
Ashley: Hands down a visit to The Glass House! What a gem right in our backyard. I go multiple times a year and it never gets old.
Janet: We love taking long walks around the beautiful parks and our own neighborhood with our 3 dogs!
Tell us about your career. How did you come into business together and determine to open your shop in New Canaan?
Ashley: I have worked in museum marketing for most of my professional career, including the Guggenheim, Cooper Hewitt and The Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield. While working at these museums, I noticed people were enormously interested in buying art for themselves but didn’t quite know where to begin. I’d frequently be asked to help a friend look for art because they were often intimidated visiting galleries. My goal was to make the art-buying process more approachable and fun. I first brought to life this concept in 2019 under the name PLUCKY, after recognizing there was an opportunity to bring accessible art and home decor to the community. PLUCKY was renamed The Little Plucky, in 2022 when my dear friend and business partner joined the venture!
Janet: I’ve been an educator since I was 22 years old. So, after 30 years of teaching, The Little PLUCKY is my mid-life pivot! My husband and I began collecting art in California at this gorgeous little Art fair that was held most Sundays in Santa Barbara. When we moved to Europe, we commemorated our travels collecting a piece of art at each stop. I’ve always loved original, fine art and found joy in choosing a piece with my family at accessible price points during our many escapades! Once we moved back to the states and New Canaan, I began studying ceramics at Silvermine Arts Center. I was blown away by the talented women I was surrounded by many of whom were educated professional artists. Ashley was ready to relaunch her company after the pandemic and I enthusiastically jumped in to be a part of it recruiting many of the artists I met at Silvermine to show at our store. We are really a collective as we currently represent around 30 women artists!! We love supporting their careers and bringing their art into the beautiful homes of Fairfield County. I still love teaching and do miss it sometimes, but this venture has brought me a whole new kind of joy and creative outlet. I always dreamed of owning my own business, and with a partner like Ashley, it has been easier than I thought to launch! We support each other, and our talents are complimentary, so the partnership just works! I am very grateful!
How do you discover new artists and source the pieces you sell?
Ashley: Now that we are becoming better known in the community, we have been fortunate enough that artists have been approaching us. We also visit art fairs throughout the country and Europe, and of course Instagram!
Janet: And Silvermine has been an amazing resource finding local ceramicists!
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
Ashley: Filling a house with art created by women! Not only are we helping our clients source and discover new art, but we are supporting women artists’ careers.
Janet: I second that! It is similar to design, but in a really personal, original one-of-a-kind way. Our art helps make a home an expression of the owner’s personal style and personality. It is really rewarding to help our clients choose unique pieces, install them and then let them just live with the art for a while, see how it resonates and makes them feel. We work really hard to be sure our clients love their art!
When working with families, what’s the one thing you hear most often from them?
Janet: Please help! We don’t know where to start!!
Do you have advice for anyone setting out to acquire art for their home?
Ashley: Go with your gut. Also, art does not need to match the color of your sofa. It should bring you joy when you see it in your house!
Janet: Art should evoke feeling from you – for example, this can be provocative, joyful, humorous, nostalgic or serene …but you should feel something! Choose pieces that make you feel!
What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from another mom?
Janet: I think just to give ourselves a break once in a while…. we really are doing our best!
How do you create a balance between work and motherhood?
Ashley: It is always a balancing act, but somehow you make it work. For us, we are so lucky to own our own business and be our own bosses. If we need to close the shop for a squash match, we can! We are lucky, or plucky:)
Janet: I’m nearly an empty-nester now after 30 years of parenting! I had my first child at 25! I can’t believe the time is almost here….so finally I feel like this will be less of a challenge, and I’m really looking forward to it as it has been the single biggest challenge in my adult life! As a mother of adult children already, I know we never stop being involved and just “being there” for our kids, but it is different and a little less demanding! Through the years I lived very far away from any family, so I had to rely on my network of friends and even students (I taught at the university level for most of my career) to find childcare. When the kids were really little a neighbor was a reliable babysitter, and daycares, good preschools helped. Once they are older finding the right schools with supportive after school programs is key as well! It really is true, it takes a Village, but it is worth it to find the balance and make sure you feed your own soul while taking care of those around you!
Any words of wisdom?
Ashley: I think as someone who just turned 50 and has always wanted to own a store dealing with art, and making that happen, can prove you can achieve your goals at any stage. It has been really exciting!
Janet: And if you can find a partner that you work really well with, and your talents complement each other, do that! Ashley and I talk all of the time about how important that has been to keep each other going as we build our business!
We love supporting local businesses. Favorite places in town (or near town) to…
Have dinner with/without kids:
A: Tavern at Gray Barns/Cherry Street East
J: Ditto – Gray Barns, and we like Sole too!
Grab a drink with friends: A & J: Elm
Have a date night:
A: Inn at Pound Ridge
J: Solé and Blackbird
Spend time together as a family indoors/outdoors:
A: A Visit to The Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield. They just opened a beautiful new outdoor sculpture garden.
J: Biking to Silvermine Market or the Mercantile and Gray Barns
Shop for yourself/shop for your kids:
A: Found/Vineyard Vines
J: J. Crew; Shoes ‘n More; Ralph Lauren
Spa/salon (or anywhere you go to treat yourself):
A: Egia Spa
J: BA Skinlab; Kiklos
Grab coffee:
A: Fun fact! I have never had a sip of coffee in my life!
J: Dolce and LPQ!
For more details, visit The Little Plucky:
The Little Plucky
111 Elm Street, Suite 1
New Canaan