Village Squire, 1976-05, Page 7Interesting hand-crafted items are among the products sold at
The Shadow Box.
lower, up to half as much, than city stores because of the
difference in overhead. •
Crafts too are a good deal Tess expensive she says because of
the lower overhead. The quilts made locally and sold in the store
sell for as much at the retail level, she says, as some of equal
quality were selling wholesale at a recent gift show she was at
She's delighted with the number of small shops that have
sprung up in Clinton in recent years. When she began there was
only one small, boutique style shop in town. The Raintree run by
Tim St. Louis. On the day she opened Tim came to see her and
wished her the best of luck and was "delightful" about the fact
another small shop was opening. She's enjoyed his company
since then as they compared notes and worked on projects like
the Potpourri craft show.
Since then, several other craft and antique stores have opened
in Clinton and she still thinks there is room for another antique
store. Variety is the key in antiques, she says. People won't come
to the town for just one antique store. They want to be able to
browse in several stores to see if there is anything they want
Even now, she says, she averages about one customer a day
from out of town who says "I just had no idea there were stores
like this in Clinton".
Still, she says, she thinks "we've reached the saturation point
with hand crafts and craft shows." For that reason, she says,
Potpourri, the annual Clinton show held for the last two years,
will not be taking place this year.
She has done crafts from both ends, as a producer and a
retailer, she says, and she knows that the secret is to try to find
an original idea. The public will pay for originality, she says, or
even for the ability of a craftsman to give that little extra touch
needed to finish off an item, like a bow or a ribbon. They'll pay
extra for those who take particular care in selecting their
materials too. She knows of examples, she says, where the same
sort of product from two different craftsmen can be set side by
side and one will outsell the other every time because of the
difference in quality.
But a craftsman must not only be original but must keep in
mind things like new colour schemes when developing an idea.
A store like hers, Mrs. Ryan says, must be trying to think up
new ideas at all times to stay -ahead of the competition. She tries
to have two ideas at least in the making at all times. An instance
is the hand -made brooms which she spotted and thought would
be a good centrepiece for making arrangements for people's
doors. She kept buying and buying the brooms until she finally
bought all that were available and had sole distributorship for the
brooms. Now, she says, she has requests from all across the
country trom people wanting arrangements with the brooms in
them.
Here is a chance to perk up that all
important room, [the John] with new bright summer
colours in
A fridcr/; S/
towels, bath mats, shower curtains, etc,
Towel bars, soaps, soap dishes, toothbrush holders and
many co-ordinated accessories.
We have prepared a "Things -for -the -Bath" collec-
tion especially for people who are puzzled about
what to give the Bride Bride-to-be, or just a little gift
for John.
Special prices just for you, from April 29th
to May 29th by
Airaddertz.s1
10% TO 40%
SAVINGS!
VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1976, 5