Christmas store adds to Main Street offerings

Searching for one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts?

It might be worth checking out the Think Local Christmas Shop at 140 Main St. in downtown Kalispell.

It’s filled with handmade items — all made in Montana and most made in the Flathead Valley. Thirty-six artists and crafters are selling their wares in the store, which is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Christmas Eve.

It’s the second year for the seasonal store, but it’s in a different location this year and there are three times as many crafters and artists selling their merchandise.

Cathi Spence and Janelle Buchanan spearheaded the store. In four days last December, the two women put together the first draft of their seasonal store. They pitched the idea to a few fellow crafters, found a building to rent, set up shop and opened — 12 days before Christmas. This year, they began planning significantly earlier.

And, so far, that’s paid off, Spence said. Last year, customers kept telling Spence they wished the store had been open earlier. “And I promised we would do just that in 2010.”

In the first week of business this season, “we’ve had a lot more traffic than we anticipated,” she said. Customers have been “amazed at the transformation” of the building, too. The shop is located in the Pastime Building, next to Glacier Bank. Building owner John Hinchey recently renovated the building.

“His building is a nice fit for us, and he has been gracious in letting us rent it for a short time,” Spence said of Hinchey.

This year’s venture is “a lot grander scale” than last year’s, Spence said.

Growing the store this year was easy, Spence said. “Everybody wanted in this year after seeing how successful it was last year. A lot of the artists contacted us to be in this year.”

Spence has long been involved in the local craft scene. Local folks who create their own artwork or crafted items tend to know one another by virtue of attending the same arts and crafts shows, Spence said. Buchanan and Spence organize two art fairs every summer in Kalispell. This year was the first time in 14 years Spence didn’t host a Christmas art show at her own home — the store is filling that role instead.

The shop is a bit of a family affair for Spence. Besides spearheading the shop, she is selling her contemporary art, Christmas decor and jewelry at the store. Her mother, Cindy Barry, sells holiday decor. Spence’s grandmother, Joyce Hamilton, is selling aprons and other kitchen textiles. And, not to be outdone by their elders, Spence’s daughters, Kyra, 12 and Gracie, 10, are offering their snow people made from recycled glass items.

Spence and Buchanan take turns working most days at the store and four of the artists also work shifts. Last year, because the idea came together so quickly, all participating artists worked sales shifts, too, which didn’t work as well as everyone wanted, Spence said, “so we have the new arrangement this year.”

There are certainly many stores in the valley that sell handmade goods, Spence says. But, “absolutely everything in our store is handmade. There are no filler products.”

The variety of merchandise is “phenomenal,” and the price range is wide, she said. 

One section of the shop features items made from recycled or reclaimed materials — “our eco section,” Spence said. Perhaps one of the most unusual items in that section are beads made from pages of old National Geographic magazines.

The artist even tells buyers “what issue of the magazine a bead is from,” Spence said.

Most of the artists involved in the Christmas store are full-time artists, Spence said. “This is the full-time job for a lot of these artists.”

Spence would like to open a permanent business, modeled after the Christmas shop. If all goes as planned, she’ll open such a store this spring.

“I always wanted to own a coffee house and have art in it,” she said.

After the holiday business is closed, the venture will be evaluated and she’ll determine whether to press ahead with a new business. While she has made no decisions or asked all the necessary questions, Spence would like to locate her new business in the Pastime Building. “I’m in love with this building,” she said. “It has history, great character and it’s on Main Street.

“It’s a tough time to be looking at a new business,” she said. “But I strongly believe we need to support people on a local level. All the money spent in our shop is being used locally.”

Spence remembers Christmas shopping in downtown Kalispell as a child, and says it was a magical place, with lights and decorations and all sorts of shopping options. “Main Street was a big deal when I was a kid — for shopping,” she said. “It’s sad to see empty storefronts on Main Street.”

She wants to be part of the group of people who “have taken a risk in trying to reinvent Main Street and make it a destination” for shopping and entertainment.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.