Gretchen M. Studio opens in Salisbury

The keys are hanging from the lock when Gretchen Mol comes to greet me at her new studio on Academy Street in Salisbury. The door is open, and so, it turns out, is she. Mol has the easy familiarity of someone you’ve known for years. And in a sense, you have.

The actress, known for her roles in “Boardwalk Empire,” “The Notorious Bettie Page” and, most recently, “Tulsa King,” is opening Gretchen M. Studio, a creative space and showroom for her small-batch clothing line, with an open house Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7.

But don’t call it a store.

“It’s really a studio space,” Mol explained. “It’s my personal kind of place to be creative, and then at the same time I am trying to sell dresses.”

And pants, and tops, and perhaps eventually jumpsuits and maybe even coats. The possibilities are open-ended, which seems to be exactly how Mol likes it.

“I’ve always loved making spaces,” she said. “I want people to feel like they could come in any time and just be here.”

Mol launched her clothing line about three years ago, inspired by a vintage 1940s house dress she had owned for decades. Her acting career, particularly her work in period pieces, had given her an appreciation for the artistry of costume design.

“You really step into someone else,” she said of wearing period clothing. Of her role in “Boardwalk Empire,” she said, “I loved that time period. I love those old movies. I think somehow, you put on these clothes and you stand taller.”

But Mol wanted to make something less precious and more practical. Her original house dress was something she could wear around the house, out to dinner or even over pajamas. She began experimenting with fabrics, modifying the silhouette and, at the suggestion of her sister-in-law, adding pockets.

“Pockets!” Mol recalled her sister-in-law insisting. “And I was like, ‘Yes. Of course.’”

Today, Mol sketches her designs and works with a technical designer and manufacturers in New York City to produce exceptionally small runs, sometimes as few as 10 pieces. She sources fabrics from places like Mood Fabrics, allowing the materials themselves to inspire new iterations.

“You’re not gonna see it everywhere,” she said of her collection. “You don’t have to worry that you’ll show up at a party in the same dress as someone else … well, maybe except for around here,” she added with a laugh.

For her clothing line, Mol has partnered with lawyer Jill Foley, who brings business and organizational expertise to the endeavor. The partnership allows Mol to pursue the project alongside an acting career that can take her away for months at a time.

“It’s been really fun to have something else besides my acting,” she said, “that’s generated from me, and that I can just put my head to when I have the time to do it and when I feel inspired.”

The studio itself is an extension of that creative impulse. Alongside her clothing are vintage pieces, books, puzzles and other objects that have caught her eye. On the walls hang paintings by her late mother, Janet, an artist and longtime teacher whose commitment to making space for her own work left a lasting impression.

Mol remembers that after her parents divorced, her mother, now a single parent, gradually claimed more room in their family home for her art. Eventually, the living room became her studio.

“I was like, ‘That’s so badass,’” Mol recalled, laughing. “Who needs a couch there?”

Looking back, she recognizes the significance of watching her mother insist on having a creative life.

“I never felt she neglected anything to do it,” Mol said. “In retrospect, it was so important that I saw her do that.”

Now Mol has carved out a room of her own, right in the center of Salisbury. She isn’t entirely sure what it will become, and she’s comfortable with that uncertainty.

“I’m doing this thing. I’m not exactly sure and clear what it’s gonna be and what the future is, but I’m so excited to see where it takes me,” she said.

For someone accustomed to inhabiting other people’s stories, stepping forward with something of her own has required a different kind of courage.

“You do have to step out in front of it,” she said. “That’s been the interesting part for me, to grapple with how much I’m ready to do that.”

For now, she’s simply inviting the community in.

“Swing by. Check it out. Maybe you’ll like it.”

Gretchen M. Studio, 7 Academy St., Salisbury, will celebrate its opening Friday, Nov. 6, from 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. No RSVP is required. Following the opening, the studio will be available by appointment, with occasional open hours. Visit gretchenm.com.