Fall arrangement created by Dot Johnston. Photo: Tiffani Bourque
Sanford sign made by a local crafter. Photo: Tiffani Bourque
By Tiffani Bourque
A new addition downtown is taking a different approach to retail in Sanford. At Coles Corner Gift Shop, mass-produced goods are nowhere to be found. Instead, the shelves are lined with handmade creations that showcase the talents and creativity of local artists and vendors.
As a crafter herself, owner Diane Goozey knows firsthand the time and effort required to sell handmade goods. Eight years ago, she turned that experience into a business with a simple goal: to give local crafters and artists a place to sell their work without having to spend every weekend setting up and maintaining a booth. The space in the lower Main Street Marketplace was formerly home to the Allied Career Training Institute.
Goozey’s own experience as a vendor at craft fairs and consignment shops inspired the idea. She envisioned something different– a shop built specifically around crafters and artists, their creativity and the work they put into their handmade goods.
“It’s much different than consignment because I don’t take a commission. It’s just vendor rented,” Goozey said. The store is also different from the Old Timers Shop on Main Street, a nonprofit that sells goods made by people over age 50 and benefits senior programming.
Goozey operated the shop in Wells for eight years and noticed many of her customers came from Sanford and Lebanon. Moving to Sanford gives the business an opportunity to reach a more year-round local customer base.
So far, 23 vendors have signed on, and Goozey plans to expand to about 30. The shop will feature woodworking, knitted goods, quilts, jewelry, signs, birdhouses, candles, crystals, vintage and repurposed items, 3D-printed creations and more.
Among the vendors are longtime local makers Bud and Dot Johnston. The couple spent 21 years selling their handmade work at farmers’ markets before moving into the shop.
Bud makes wooden crafts, birdhouses, wreaths, Christmas decorations and gourd bowls. Dot creates knitted goods including hats, table runners, potholders and placemats.
For Bud, the shop represents more than selling handmade items. It is about bringing people together.
“It’s all the creative spirit,” he said. He looks forward to meeting and learning from other makers.
A simple request from his grandson sparked Bud’s love of gourds. Years ago, the two attended the Portland Flower Show, where his grandson picked up some gourd seeds and asked, “Grandpa, can you help me grow gourds?” His grandson eventually grew up, married and started a family – leaving Bud with the gourds.
Today, he turns those gourds into bowls and other decorative pieces. For him and Dot, Coles Corner also means leaving behind the early mornings and long days of traveling to farmers’ markets.
Instead of loading the car before sunrise, setting up, spending the day at a market and bringing everything home again, they can display their creations full-time at Coles Corner. Goozey also notifies vendors when something sells so they can restock without having to be at the shop every day.
Goozey is equally confident in what the new shop can bring to Sanford.
“I know it’s going to work,” she said.
Coles Corner Gift Shop opens this Friday, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, follow Coles Corner on Facebook.
This article was produced through the training and support of Journalism New England’s Career Lab.
The post Coles Corner: A New Home for Crafters appeared first on Sanford Springvale News.
