Exploring Small Boutique Shops On The Upper Cape

By CHRISTOPHER KAZARIAN

Basic economics teaches us there is a value for each dollar we spend. Just as important is how we spend it, especially this holiday season.

Will we opt to stay at home, spending our money online? Or will we increase the value of our money, and the impact it makes locally, by spending it at small businesses here on Cape Cod? If more of us make a consistent effort to choose the latter, the impact will be much more meaningful.

The Cape-based nonprofit Love Live Local estimates that if we collectively shifted 10 percent of our year-round spending to local retailers, it would add $112 million to the Cape’s economy on an annual basis. So yes, every dollar we spend matters, especially when it comes to shopping locally.

“The pandemic accelerated trends that are making it really hard for small businesses to compete. It’s really important for people to recognize that sometimes the decks are stacked against small businesses, and we need to show up for them, particularly during the most wonderful time of the year,” Love Live Local chief executive officer Amanda Converse said. “It is not just showing up for them, it is showing up for the community. It is really up to us. If we want to keep our community special, we need to shop local.”

Where to start? Here are four options—one in each town on the Upper Cape.

Village Trading Company (Bourne)

It was in January 2020 when Sherry and Mark Bergeron became the new owners of the Village Trading Company on Route 28A in Cataumet. “We took over the store just in time to close it for COVID,” Mark said matter-of-factly.

The shop, which sells an assortment of home décor, gifts and children’s toys, eventually reopened in June 2020. “We only had one Christmas season here, which was fantastic, even in the middle of COVID,” Mark said. “It was different, but we fully anticipate more folks coming out and shopping this year.”

Among its more popular products are Simon Pearce glass, which is manufactured in Vermont; recycled aluminum and glass tabletop ware made by Mariposa; Nora Fleming dishes and plates; Spartina lady handbags; Dune Jewelry; and Root Candles.

The Bergerons, who also own The Village Toy Store in Brewster, have expanded their offerings for children.

While the Village Trading Company cannot compete with big box stores, Mark said, they offer something larger companies do not—a personal human connection. “Here, it’s more social and people can naturally touch and feel our products, many of which are made in New England,” he said. “Another thing we do is wrap your gifts for you. We have a nice mix of high-end products and products for folks who don’t have $250 to spend on Christmas.”

Twigs (Falmouth)

The holidays are the perfect time to pay a visit to Falmouth Village because of the lengths it goes to embrace the spirit of the season. “Downtown Falmouth feels like this iconic Christmas village,” said Elissa Vancura, who has co-owned Twigs with Martha Collins since 2015. “It’s where people come to get into the spirit of the holidays.”

Embodying that spirit is Twigs, a charming store featuring one-of-a-kind products, many of which are made by local and regional artists. “We don’t sell any national brands,” Ms. Vancura said. “We try to have things in our store that people aren’t going to find anywhere else.”

The store’s vibe is what Ms. Vancura described as “organic, natural, simple”: “Coming into our store is always a unique experience because we are constantly bringing in new artisans. When you come in, you have to spend time going through it. You might find something a little bit different because we are always bringing in new things.”

This season, Ms. Vancura highlighted several products that will make for perfect gifts for a loved one, from “beautiful cutting boards and serving platters,” all with an ocean-theme, made by the Middleboro-based Blue Anchor Studio, to beach-inspired ornaments and home décor that uses shells, starfish and sand dollars.

The store’s jewelry line features silver and gold inspirational necklaces handcrafted by Becoming in Kennebunk, Maine, as well as an array of earrings, necklaces and bracelets designed by Harwich’s Jessica Gomes, owner of The Beaded Wire.

When asked why shopping local is important, Ms. Vancura pointed to one of the lines made by a local artist who is also a full-time teacher. “That means something to people,” she said. “It feels a little more personal to shoppers to be able to feel like they know who the artist is and how they are benefitting a particular person. They are directly benefiting our families and the families of the artists, in addition to getting something for themselves. That is the gift of shopping local—it is more of a connection.”

The Art Coddage (Mashpee)

After nine years of showcasing her handcrafted jewelry at the Artist Shanties overlooking Hyannis Harbor, Elisa Sullivan of Sandwich had a novel idea. Create a temporary pop-up store at Mashpee Commons featuring the work of local creatives like herself.

She broached the idea to two other Sandwich artists she had met at the shanties—Tara Ring and Linda Keough—who jumped on board. What was supposed to be a short-term concept turned into a permanent shop, The Art Coddage, which celebrated its two-year anniversary in the beginning of November.

The store is an artist collective, featuring 13 current members who include its three co-owners, Sullivan, Ring and Keough.

Here you’ll find an assortment of colorful, whimsical, inspiring and beautiful items that are as unique as the artists who create them.

Sullivan, who has owned Swirls Jewelry since 1999, is a silversmith. She makes hand-forged pieces of jewelry that feature sea glass, pearls and oysters, all with words, phrases and designs on them.

As for Ms. Ring, she designs and crafts home décor pillows. At The Art Coddage, you’ll find nautical-themed and seasonal-inspired pieces that will liven up any room.

And Ms. Keough is the creative genius behind MapSacks, a line of assorted handbags all featuring vintage maps on them.

There are also pottery mugs and plates; wreaths and floral arrangements; photographs; scented soy candles; vintage-style aprons; and soaps and creams. All were made locally by a Cape Cod artist.

“A lot of it is inspired by Cape Cod, which comes through in the items,” Ms. Sullivan said.

More than that is the level of time, care and detail that went into creating them, which Ms. Sullivan said you won’t find if you shop online or in a big box store this holiday season. “You’ll find some really unique things here you can’t find anywhere else,” she said.

While there have been many challenges—namely the pandemic—since The Art Coddage opened in the fall of 2019, Ms. Sullivan said she wouldn’t trade the experience for the world. “For me, it reinforced that this is what I love and what I want to do,” she said. “I’m so grateful to have a place to show my work. That is such a big part of it. We have such a sense of community when we do the [Hyannis] art shanties, and this is creating even more of a sense of community.”

The Weather Store (Sandwich)

First, Hurricane Bob hit the Cape in August 1991. A few months later, the No-Name Storm, also known as the Perfect Storm, wreaked havoc along the East Coast. Those significant storms would serve as the precursor, and partial inspiration, for The Weather Store, which owner Parke Madden opened a year later in 1992.

“I came up with the idea for the store because everyone talks about the weather on Cape Cod and I was looking for a common denominator that people can relate to,” he explained. “A big reason people enjoy the Cape is their connection with the water and sky. And with so many homes and areas exposed to the weather, whether you’re on a beach or a hill, you’re affected by the weather.”

He combined that interest with his background in antiques and marine instruments to create a store that sells products that allow us to better understand and appreciate the weather here on Cape Cod.

“It is a very unique store, and it has a selection of instruments—I’m not really big on high-tech electronics—we have more traditional, heirloom-quality items,” Mr. Madden said.

Here shoppers will find everything from barometers, thermometers, tide clocks, rain gauges and weather stations. It also sells complementary items including nautical maps, weathervanes, ship models, sundials, whirligigs and wind spinners.

“I offer something hard to find, whether it’s a barometer or tide clock,” Mr. Madden said. “I have a lot of pieces that can enhance people’s life on the Cape and also a lot of affordable items like a $5 weather stick, which is a nice little folksy device that points up in good weather and down in bad. It really works, and I sell them every day.”

With the more expensive pieces, he stressed the “long-lasting quality to them.” “They are very much heirloom-quality, and I think they are pieces that anyone would be very pleased to own and use,” he said.

One of the best parts of the items he sells at The Weather Store is that many are educational. “I like to think you learn something when you come here,” he said. “The instruments I sell are not so much about predicting the weather but making us better understand the weather we have around us every day. I think it makes you a better observer of nature.”