A steady summer rain soaked the lush garden of Dustin Piccolo’s beautifully restored 1870 Victorian home which he enjoys with his husband, David Kinsey and their son, J.

Dustin and I kept dry, sitting on his eclectically appointed front porch, brimming with potted begonias, heavily cushioned teak furniture, and original clay sculptures of mythical creatures that seemed to eavesdrop on our conversation. 

Born and raised in Sussex County, New Jersey, Dustin was educated at the prestigious Blair Academy and continued to The Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture.

Dustin’s artistic training and creative vision culminated in Fine Fellows, his and his husband’s ice cream parlor, on Beach Avenue in Cape May. 

A visit to Fine Fellows is like stepping into an interactive masterpiece of pop art. Oversized multicolored paper lanterns float above swirling murals as glowing psychedelic lights pulsate to the sounds of fun, family-friendly dance favorites. The remarkable decor is second only to the dozens of flavors of Bassetts ice cream, decadent toppings, and the endless Wonka-like sundaes that only an artist of Dustin’s caliber could dream of. 

Let’s start with a classic question: as a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

I never knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I always knew I wanted to do something in the arts. 

I want to talk about the various mediums in which you create. Can we start with your most recent pursuit? 

Sure, I recently began working in clay sculpture in the off-season at the Clay College in Millville. I will probably be having a show opening there in August. I am also creating a body of work that would eventually be for a show in Cape May. 

If these new sculptures are anything as spectacular as your award-winning floral designs, we’re all in for a treat. Let’s talk about your love of flowers. 

My parents owned a flower shop when I was growing up. It was their side hustle. My love of flowers, as you can tell from my garden, is from my grandmother. My family all grew up on the same estate. I would spend time with her and help to garden and weed and loved getting my hands dirty. I fell in love with the creative nature of gardening. Many of these plants you see in my yard are from her yard. Nature has always been very grounding for me. The same with art. 

Tell me about your pursuit of floral design and some of the awards you’ve earned from them. 

After studying fine arts, I spent summers living in Philadelphia with my husband, David. I got a freelance job doing event designing with a design firm. After graduating, I got a full-time job with them and became head designer. We designed for the Philadelphia Flower Show, and we won Best in Show and People’s Choice. There was a Governor’s Award one year and a Mayor’s Award. One year we created a life-size topiary elephant made of Spanish moss with a carpet of dried flowers draped over it. We also created 40-foot-wide floral fountains. It was cool to work on that large of a scale, especially with a theme. That all led to doing more large-scale events. To me, art is about communicating an emotion. When you’re working with flowers you are capturing the emotion or theme of an event. 

When you are commissioned as an artist to design an event but are given specific guidelines and themes, doesn’t that limit you creatively?

No. It’s good to have direction. It’s about delivering an experience to the people you are creating the art for. It’s no different than what I do at Fine Fellows when I deliver an experience. 

Can you comment more about nature as an artistic medium? I mean it’s such a fleeting medium. 

I’ve always loved working with nature as a collaborator because it reminds me to stop and appreciate the beauty in the moment. It reminds me to pause.

That reminds me of a quote from Leonard Nimoy: “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memories.”

Ice cream is like that too—you have to enjoy it while it’s there because it doesn’t last, but it makes for great memories.

That’s beautiful! So how did you go from flowers to ice cream? 

My husband and I knew we wanted to move to Cape May County for our son to go to school. He goes to Special Services which is an amazing school! We were figuring out a way to live here full time. When we looked at spaces coming up on the market we saw the space for Fine Fellows. It was overlooking the ocean and there was such great energy to it! I had always worked creating for parties, so that’s why Fine Fellows now feels like a party when you walk in. 

Yeah! Fine Fellows always brings out the little kid in me! 

You can get ice cream anywhere. We want Fine Fellows to be an experience. Even our staff is a rainbow of personalities—they’re kids who work in theater, play in bands, or study art themselves. They get what’s going on with what we are creating, and our visitors love them! 

It’s a great family place too!

I have never seen a kid cry or whine in Fine Fellows. When they come in and see the flashing lights, the paper lanterns and hear the music they begin to dance and their faces light up! In the 11 years we’ve had Fine Fellows, we now see high school kids who come in because they had their very first ice cream cone with us when they were toddlers. I love that we get to be such a memorable part of people’s lives.

A few years back when you hosted the ice cream days for East Lynne Theater, you really poured your heart and soul into it. I mean there are many generous businesses in town, but you decorated the sidewalk with chalk drawings and created special themed sundaes just for a one-day event. 

It’s worth the effort. I care about the Cape May community. That effort lets the people who I’m helping really know that I care. 

Inside and out, Fine Fellows is very identifiable as a gay-friendly business. Has the past 11 years of that visible expression garnered support or backlash from the public? 

When we first opened, we displayed the pride flag for the month of June. We did have issues with people ripping it down and shouting slurs. That’s when I decided to fly it all the time because despite those few isolated incidents, I knew I had the support of the community. Being so visible is more than just supporting a specific community; it’s about telling everyone that we are a safe place for them to be who they are. 

Have you ever had someone come in looking for a safe space or support?

I have had people who are here on vacation with family and come in to ask where they can go or what LGBT events they could attend. I usually let them know that Cape May is a town where they can pretty much go anywhere and be who they are. Now, I have had a few incidents where people come in to give me a religious pamphlet and begin to preach but once again, our shop is a safe space, so I respect them and let them express their thoughts and feelings too. 

As warm and wonderful as it can be creating a happy environment for visitors, I know you must have those moments when people make you shake your head in disbelief. In the spirit of laughing with them and not at them, can you share anything that might fall into that category? 

(Laughing) The question I get most often is, “Is there any dairy in your vegan ice cream?” 

What is your sarcastic retort to that? 

No sarcasm, I just answer that there is no dairy in the vegan ice cream or anything else vegan for that matter. Oh, and here’s a question I get a lot that people ask in all seriousness, “Does your ice cream melt?” I always have to fight back the inclination to explain melting points but instead, respond with “Not if you eat it fast enough!” But the question that really gets me is, “How many scoops do I get in a double?” After 11 years, I just hold my tongue, smile and answer, “Two.” 

What is the biggest challenge of operating Fine Fellows? 

The physical toll it takes on me—standing on a concrete floor, bending forward to scoop ice cream for 14 hours a day. It was easier when we opened and I was 11 years younger, but I am 43 now and I feel it. Another challenge is that I don’t always have the option of a day off or calling in sick. I need to be there. It’s a choice I happily made, but I also don’t get to have a summer. I can’t go to the beach or go for a boat ride. 

Not surprising that you say that. Every businessperson I have ever interviewed reminds the readers that those who live and work here don’t live the vacation life. 

Exactly! I spend my entire summer literally across the street from the beach. When the summer starts, I tell myself that one day I’ll wake an hour earlier to lie in the sand or dip my toe in the water. But of course, it never happens that I even set foot on the beach unless I race across the street with an ice cream sundae just to take a picture of it for Instagram. 

Do you think if someone bought Fine Fellows from you, they would maintain the brand you have created?

I would insist on it. Not that we are thinking of selling, but when that day comes, I would only sell to someone who would maintain the brand. That buyer would have to be hand-picked. 

We talked a moment ago about your ongoing relationship with customers and the community. What do you think is the lasting effect of that relationship? 

Cape May has been a loving and supportive community for me and my family. My biggest hope is that I can make each person who visits Fine Fellows feel that kindness and spread it around. That’s the legacy I’d like to leave. A legacy of kindness.