Montauk's Poppy Heart Art Shop Raising Funds for Move

Poppy Heart, a café, art studio and retail store in Montauk, is hoping to crowdsource a move to a more affordable new location upon closing its current shop at the end of the year.

Juliana Purcell Sheehan, who manages the dynamic establishment in summer 2021, made a plea in a GoFundMe campaign seeking donations on behalf of the shop’s founder Tiffany LaBanca-Madarasz.

“The money that is raised will be directly applied to Poppy Heart’s debts — back rent owed, loans Tiffany has taken out to keep Poppy Heart open, utilities until the end of the year, and paying off inventory bills and money owed to vendors,” Sheehan wrote in the plea. “But most importantly, I know she would be further heartbroken if she is unable to get Poppy Heart up and running in a new and more affordable Montauk location quickly.”

The campaign had raised more than $9,200 in the two-week period between it being posted on October 18 and this story going to press on November 1.

In an interview with Dan’s Papers published in July, LaBanca-Madarasz said she launched Poppy Heart to give local children something to do.

“These kids come to Poppy Heart, and they run up the stairs and hug me, and it’s the most magical thing,” she said. “I think what Poppy Heart has become is kind of like a culmination of all the things in my heart that I want to be able to give to other people.”

To donate, visit gofundme.com/f/please-help-keep-poppy-heart-open