FARMINGTON — Diane Nielsen has turned her love of vintage and great used kitchenware and her love of cooking into a new business that just opened its doors in Farmington.

And even in this sluggish economy, she feels confident there is a niche market for what she sells.

Nielsen’s new cooking and baking supply store, Mixed Up, is five miles east of Center Bridge in Farmington at 442 Farmington Falls Road (Route 2).

Opening a new business is risky, she agrees.

“But there are a lot of fine home cooks in Maine, both men and women, and more people are eating meals at home,” she said. “That will never go out of style.”

The store is filled with shiny steel shelves loaded with new and used cooking and baking supplies, kitchen tools, mixers and pasta makers, pots and pans, cookbooks, and a selection of odd lots of high-end new table linens and cloth napkins.

“You never know what you will find here,” she said.

The nearest retail kitchen supply stores are in southern Maine and they only sell new products, Nielsen said. What sets Mixed Up apart from other stores is the selective collection of used things in addition to new products,  including Emil Henry, manufacturer of fine quality ovenware, gourmet cooking and bakeware, and Cuisipro, which specializes in innovative kitchen tool designs.

“I wanted this to be a fun place to shop if you’re a cook,” Nielsen said. “People love the old things and things made in the U.S.A. that have lasted for so many years. These are things that you can pass down.”

“I always have people come in and pick up something and say they remember how their mother or grandmother used something just like it,” she said, picking up an old-fashioned metal hamburger maker that is just like the one her own mother used.

“I sell nostalgia as much as anything and I’m always looking,” she said, pointing out a hard-to-find used commercial bread mixer and American-made, copper-clad bottom Revere cookware.

According to Farmington’s code enforcement officer Steve Kaiser, there is an increase in interest in renting commercial space downtown and along the Wilton Road, with inquiries from an independent pharmacy, a retail store selling high-tech clothes for recreation and work, a pet store, a restaurant and an industrial supply store.

“There are small businesses that are starting to put packages together,” he said.

He said he worked with Nielsen when she first came to the town last winter with her business plan and he was impressed.

“Her business in Oquossoc was doing very well and she was excited about trying out Farmington. This is the right environment for her right now,” he said. “And it is nice to have that kind of store in town to add to the mix.”

Before Nielsen moved to Franklin County in 2004, she had her own bakery and ice cream shop on the south shore of Cape Cod. Prior to that, she taught culinary arts at a career and technical high school.

Until this year, she sold her products at the Gallery at Stony Batter Station, an eclectic gallery and gift shop on Route 4 in Oquossoc outside of Rangeley an downed by Carol Gorman.

“At the Gallery, sales in the summer were huge because of the tourists. I couldn’t fill the shelves fast enough,” Nielsen said.

On Monday, Gorman happened to be in the new store and was buying a rare Fiestaware toaster that Nielsen had been searching for, a pasta-making cookbook, a vintage ravioli cutter and made-in-the-USA metal French fry cutter.

“It’s just like the one my mother used,” she said.

Gorman said she is sorry Nielsen is leaving Oquossoc but feels this is a good time for her to make the move. She doesn’t think the economy affects a cook or baker’s desire or need to buy just the right appliance or kitchen tool, especially if it is affordably priced, durable and good quality.

“You would have to go to Portland to find this kind of selection,” she said. “I think there will always be a demand for good kitchenware. If you spend time in the kitchen and you need something, you will get it,” she said.

As soon as Nielsen put out her sign last week announcing June 4 was opening day, people immediately starting coming in, she said. When her doors officially opened, she said business was steady and people were buying.

Nielsen also knows the culinary arts and how to use everything she sells.

“I had one man come in Saturday and tell me he was having a problem making Julia Child’s baguette recipe,” she said.

She went through the procedure with him and sold him a special knife for scoring the top of the French bread loaf to release the steam.

“He came back in at the end of the day and brought me a hot loaf of bread that was perfect. He was so thrilled,” she said.

“People have been very welcoming and many said it was long overdue for a cookware store to open in Farmington.”

The store’s hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The phone number is 778-4616