Name: Alison Murphy
Occupation: Owner of Concord Handmade
This is your third year opening in different spots downtown for the holidays. What have you learned from the first two years to make this year easier?
The biggest thing I learned from the first year to the second year is that the location really, really matters. And that being closer to downtown and that walk-able downtown is probably the most important factor in setting up the shop. People have started to recognize the store and are looking for it every year, but I really rely on people just kind of happening upon it every year. So the fact that we were a little bit out of the way the second year made me work a little harder on finding a more central location this year.
Roughly how many different artists have contributed to this year’s shop?
We have about 40 this year. I think we probably have between five and 10 new artists this year, who are great and they are almost all based out of New England.
What are some of the trends you’re seeing this holiday season?
People are looking for customized gifts. I think that’s one thing they are looking at. In the past, the fact that it was handmade was enough for somebody to want to buy something, but this year people are looking for handmade and customized or handmade and made out of recycled materials. I think people like handmade because its got the story behind it.
How far in advance do you start gathering artists/items for sale? Do people create whatever they want, or do you make suggestions?
The first thing I do is check in with the artists who have done the store in the past to find out if they want to participate the next year. If it’s an artist who makes a lot of different things, we talk about what worked the best the year before and those are usually the things I’ll ask them to bring back. But if the artist has sold in the past and has new work usually I’ll take that too as long as its not too similar to something else that I already have.
What is your artistic specialty? Do you have stuff for sale in the store?
I make skirts out of African wax print fabrics and I make jewelry out of leather work. I play roller derby so I started making toe guards for roller skates, which are little protective caps for the top of your roller skates. To make them I learned a lot of leather working skills so then I started making jewelry cause I had all the tools already.
How do you select the artists who sell items in the store?
With the application I look for an artist that has something that’s different than what we already have in the shop cause I don’t want anything too similar to anything we already have. Then I look at the quality of the work to make sure its a standard that I can stand behind. Since the artist isn’t here I have to be able to sell it and be proud of it and know it’s good enough quality that its not going to fall apart after the shop ends.
What are some of the more unique items you have this year?
Two that I can think of that are probably the most unique is we have tooth fairy pillows that look like monsters. The mouth is a little pocket that you put your tooth in, which is where the tooth fairy leaves the money. So those are great and unique because who doesn’t need a tooth fairy pillow, unless you’re a grown up. And then we have catnip toys that are shaped like mustaches, french fries and pizza. And I think those are great because I want to see a cat walking around with a piece of pizza hanging out of its mouth. It would be hilarious.
Have you been inspired to learn any new skills by the other artists in the store? What are they?
Yes. Every year the shop sort of helps me to sit down and think about how I want to spend the rest of my year with my own craft afterward. So last year after the shop ended, I learned how to do lino cutting, with linoleum block printing. It was just one of those things that I really liked what other people were doing and I wanted to make some stamps for the shop and just for fun. So it sort of helps to see what other people can do, but at the same time it makes me think that I should just stick to what I do and let people who are good at what they’re doing keep doing it.
You’ve managed to create a nomadic existence and a loyal following at the same time: what has surprised you most about the public response when you open in a new spot every year?
Probably that people look forward to the shop every year. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise, but that they’ve been waiting to find out where we’re going to be and that they look forward to it.
Do you ever get confused and accidentally go to a previous store location in the morning?
Not yet, but I think its probably because I park at a friend’s house who lives very close to last year’s store so I see it every morning and I see that it’s a comic book shop now.
We know you as a member of the Granite State Roller Derby team. Do you do any of your artwork on roller skates?
I’ve thought about it because I think it would help my agility, but no. No, I don’t.
What do you do for the rest of the year?
I do my own craft stuff. So I sell at different shows around the area and I am also doing yoga teacher training right now and I also work at the crisis center of central New Hampshire doing on call work.
Hidden talent (besides roller derby and art!)?
I have a really good memory with faces, which makes the store a little bit strange because I’ll remember people from year to year and sometimes things they bought or stuff we’ve talked about. So it sometimes creeps people out because I’ll be like “oh yeah I remember everything we talked about 10 months ago.” Yeah that’s my talent.
Guilty pleasure?
Reality TV. Like TV of people’s lives that I’d never want. I am fascinated by and I love watching reality TV.
