Stylemaker Q&A: Buttons, Bangles and Bobby Pins
Laura and Sachi Komai’s State Street store Anthology has been a runaway success. Open since March 2008, they even garnered a mention in The New York Times travel section over the summer (Ed's note: I wrote about Anthology in my column in November 2008). This must-stop shop carries handmade items by local artists like hair accessories, jewelry, wrapping paper, wall hangings, cards, picture frames and more. Plus aspiring crafters can drop and use their crafting area to make buttons, bracelets, bangles picture frames and other miscellaneous items.
All in all shoppers can have an affordable or luxurious experience (and really, both) at the sisters’ shop—and spend $1 or $400.
Why did you choose State Street for your location?
My sister and I worked on this block for ten years and we wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s lively—you get a mix of people like students, state office workers and tourists. It’s a fun place to be.
Why do you think your store has been successful?
I think our emphasis on items that local artists have created really seem to strike a chord in our customers. There’s this building movement of [wanting] handmade things. People appreciate purchasing something handmade, and customers can make their own things too. I have a feeling that people are in need of that right now.
How many artists do you carry and where are they from?
Forty artists. They’re from places like Madison, McFarland and Sun Prairie. We’ve got a couple from the New York area and a Virgina artist.
How do you find the artists’ work you sell in the store?
It’s interesting how quickly the word gets out in the arts community. After we opened we had people coming and saying, “oh my sister makes things, I make things.” We could probably have four times the artists that we have right now we just don’t have the space! There are a lot of people making things right now, and that was our motivation for the store.
The Craftacular and our connections with The Glitter Workshop was a huge reason we were able to reach artists.
What are your most popular items?
Far and away the make a button for a buck activity. People really like the buttons. We spun off from there and we can make bracelets and picture frames too. People also like to come in and make their own items with their own images.
What new items are you excited about?
We had been pestering local artist Orangy Porangy for a while [to carry her things] and she brought us her skirts so we have those.
Hand-dyed full- and half-slips in rich jewel tones for fall (shown in photo above; can we worn over leggings or under cute cardigans), as well as elegant headbands adorned with sequins and embroidered flowers. Both are re-creations of Michelle Pieterick, owner of Dainty Daisies up in Oshkosh.
Customers have been having a lot of fun creating their own charm necklaces using hand-dyed silk ribbons (we have over one hundred different colors) and a variety of soldered pendants. We have a set of metal letters so people can hand-stamp their own brass charms, too.
A woman came in yesterday and spent an hour decorating her own wooden bangle with decorative paper scraps for $9. We have Paris maps as well as fruit and floral prints (just to name a few of the choices.)
We also have some wonderful re-made aprons from Rustbelt Fiberwerks in Milwaukee ($38); Leah Parkhurst takes vintage linens (tablecloths, napkins, handkerchiefs, even Marimekko prints) and pieces them together. She silkscreens her own designs onto the material as well (silhouettes of birds, prairie grasses, lily-of-the-valley stalks and rooftop water towers).
We have a handful of Rebecca Light’s re-made sweaters ($45–$65) still in stock, although her last batch went fast and she’s busy sewing up a storm for the fifth Annual Holiday Craftacular, a showcase of over sixty local “indie” crafters to be held once again at the Madison Masonic Center on Saturday, November 28.
You are co-hosting the Craftacular with The Glitter Workshop. Why did you decide to get involved?
[The Glitter Workshop’s] Naomi [Richardson] started the Craftacular, but her fourth child is due before this year’s Craftacular. She does a lot of wholesale and consignment business. It’s quite a lot of work to organize that. Working with artists as we do and selling handmade things my sister and I felt the Craftacular was an important event and we wanted to continue with it.
Any other fun upcoming activities?
We have a downtown Halloween trick or treating event. It’s the Friday before Halloween, kids can come downtown and come little trick or treat goodies from a variety of businesses downtown.
Our drop-in activities change every month. For October we’ll have onesies that people can decorate or people can bring in their own T-shirts. The button-making station is up all the time. People can always reserve space at the store for their own craft activities. They can make decoupage fabric mirrors with wooden mirror frames and we use mod podge and fabric scraps. Photo snippets. We’ve had a couple of book groups and you bring in your travel sculptures and you can arrange those in a grid.
What are your personal favorite items?
Laura: My favorite items are the ribbon necklaces. We have a couple of different colors of ribbon and we also have beads and charms here. Each silk ribbon is $9 and the price can go up to $100 if you want a lot of charms on it.
Sachi: The button hairclips—they’re by an artist out of Oshkosh. We sell the hairclips and bobby pins. $3–4/each.
Anthology, 218 State St. 204-2644. anthology.typepad.com
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As Madison Magazine's associate and style editor, Shayna Miller writes the monthly "Window Shopping" column about Madison's coolest store owners, products and shops. She also reports on Madison's most stylish people, chic items she loves, store events and sales, and additional dish in her weekly blog. Her favorite places to check out around town are consignment and vintage shops for one-of-a-kind treasures, new restaurants and bars, and anywhere that affords her the opportunity to meet and talk to Madison's most inspirational (and many times, fashionable!) people.
