Artifaktori is closing in Davis Square (but staying open on Beacon Hill)

[ron_newman]

The owner of Artifaktori is closing the store at 22 College Ave., according to Wicked Local/Somerville Journal.

She has started a closing sale that will probably last through March. Her other store at 121 Charles Street on Beacon Hill will remain open.

In the article, she cites the departure in recent years of Chinook, Black & Blues, and Poor Little Rich Girl, and says that Davis Square seems to be a better location for bars and restaurants than it is for small independent retail shops.

Comments

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

And yet in that general timeframe, places that have opened here include Diaper Lab, Found, Boston Shaker, Lucy's Sunshine, and what else am I forgetting?

[ron_newman]

During the Midnight Madness sale last month, she told me there just isn't enough foot traffic to keep her in business there. (She told me at the time that she planned to close, but I refrained from posting that to LJ then, as I feared that would hurt her business more.)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

That seems an odd statement given the neverending stream of foot traffic there. From my perspective, there wasn't enough business because the stuff in there isn't anything anybody needs. Though Davis Squared apparently manages to thrive despite that same limitation, so what do I know.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

IMHO, Artifaktori is closing because their prices are too high. I guess it's ok in Beacon Hill, but every time I have stuck my head in there because I needed something in that vein, their prices are invariably about 20% above what I think I could pay for it at the upper end, and usually 30-40% above what a little shopping lets me find.

[twilighttremolo.livejournal.com]

I agree. I go in there frequently, but rarely (if ever? I can't remember) buy, because their stuff is nice, but their prices are a little steep.

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

Heh. Just yesterday I read Yglesias's little piece on small urban shops 'wanting' to be bars, restaurants, and liquor stores.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/01/22/job_killing_liquor_license_moritoriums_are_terrible.html

OTOH Davis has Comicazi, and grocery stores both bland chain and that Italian place, and a dogpile of dentists, a hair salon, a massage place or two, and McKinnon's, and CVS, and Harvard Vanguard, and maybe more; stores other than restaurants or bookstores tend to be invisible to me.

No actual bookstore that I know of.

[ron_newman]

I can't think of any 'bland chain' grocery unless you mean Tedeschi's, which is more of a convenience store.

[teko.livejournal.com]

When she first opened, she told me that she was "opening a store for fun" to sell what's in her attic, and would be surprised if it lasted six months.

Since it's lasted five years and she opened a second store, I don't feel like her experiment was a failure :)

"...everybody wants a discount,” she sighed. It's true, Artifaktori, not everyone in Davis Square can pay $100 for a vintage shirt. Sorry!

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that one.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

[doogly.livejournal.com]

word. it was mad boujie.
it's not about competition with bars, it's about competition with goodwill.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I actually mentioned high prices in my comment above but deleted before posting because I thought maybe that was the norm and it was just me being out of touch. I've certainly seen things there I might have gotten, but WHOA spendy.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ming/]

I once bought a pretty sweet glow in the dark poster of a medieval knight and maiden on a neon pink horse for $10 there which the lady behind the counter seemed really relieved to be getting rid of, but that was the only thing I felt comfortable buying for the price. Even the $2-5 records, which were one of the best deals in the store, were hard to buy when I knew they came from the $1 pile at Goodwill a few hundred feet away.

But it is true that my very high rent makes it harder for me to support as many local "non-essentials" businesses as I'd like. The trade off is one I'm conscious of making, but that doesn't mean I feel great about it.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I don't think Davis is the right place for overpriced vintage... people who can afford it will just go into Boston, and people who can't will go to Goodwill or maybe Buffalo Exchange. Which is probably why the Beacon Hill one is doing better.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

This is my problem with the clothing stores in davis. There's no clothing stores in my sweet spot, everything is either consignment (just not my bag) or way-overpriced.

I remember the clothing store on Holland somewhere near dave's fresh pasta had a cool t-shirt I liked, but the price was $85!!! Are you shitting me?

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, seriously. I would love for a reasonably-priced clothing store to open in Davis.

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

Also, I wonder if competition with the Davis Flea is a factor. When it's open, it sells so much more vintage stuff than can fit in one store, and has lower prices since the vendors aren't paying for overhead.

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

There's also What's Nu, Maximum Hesh, and Stellabella Toys (which moved from Porter to Davis).

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

Davis Squared has a lot of cards, which is one of the main reasons I shop there (other than to ogle all the pretty shiny expensive things).