How Crafty: Two Sisters Bring Artful Things to Niceville
By Breanne Boland June 3, 2004 Issue

Candice Holezko and Carole Atkinson have been sisters since birth, but only became business partners early this year, when they bought the former Ginger’s Arts and Crafts in Niceville. The last three months have been spent revamping, replenishing, and renovating, turning the store into Artful Things. The transformation isn’t quite complete, but the change is substantial already.

When they first bought it, it was, in Atkinson’s words, “dollhouses and pompoms.” While they’re not eliminating that aspect of the store altogether, they are reducing it in favor of more fine art supplies. Still, despite their own ideas for the store, they have to listen to the community and learn what it wants and needs, and strike a balance between what they want and what the area wants. “There’s a need for it,” Atkinson says. “The churches and schools use the pompoms, and people come down from the college for balsa wood and mat board.” The old elements of Ginger’s can still be found, but Holeczko and Atkinson are trying to make Artful Things an entity all its own.

Other changes include a revamped classroom in the back of the store and a full roster of classes in subjects like oil painting (taught by Holeczko, of course), pen and ink drawing, and the one-stroke painting technique. They plan to add classes in crafting, such as using resin (Atkinson’s specialty) in June, and are seeking more teachers with a variety of skills to pass on to others. Currently they’re considering classes in calligraphy, jewelry making, and scrap booking, and hoping to get stained glass supplies and begin classes in that as well.

They’ve been in their new home for almost three months now, but they’re only now able to begin to slow down and enjoy the fruits of their efforts. Until now, they had been working 10 hours a day, seven days a week. “We haven’t stopped,” Holeczko says, “but we can at least take days off now and then for a breather.”

The store is the perfect marriage of the sisters’ talents. Holeczko has been involved in art her entire life. She studied oil painting and later taught it for 10 years. She had a studio in Memphis, and was the president of the local art association for one year, and a member for five. Three years ago, she became interested in custom framing as a complement to what she’d been doing for so long.

Atkinson has a creative side as well, but her business background and years in bookkeeping and accounting is what makes the mix of talents work so well for the store. She spent 24 years at Good Times, a newspaper in Santa Cruz, working her way from office manager to publisher, a position she held for 12 years. “At the paper, everyone used to think I owned it because of how I treated it,” she says. “I thought it was about time I actually owned something.”

“We’d done all of it for so many years for other people,” Holeczko says. “The work’s not that different, but it’s a whole different feel.”

“We both decided that together we had a lot to offer for an arts and crafts store with custom framing,” Atkinson says. “It’s fun, and great working with people, and helping them find their creative abilities,” Holeczko adds.

Artful Things’ building began its life as a barracks connected with Eglin Air Force base. Once the troops moved out, it turned into Estelle’s Arts and Crafts Supply, before Ginger bought it eight years ago and renamed it. Now it continues its life as a haven for supplies for the creative, but in a slightly different direction. One of the biggest changes longtime customers might notice, aside from the extended hours, is the phasing out of the floral and dollhouse miniatures departments. Instead, they’re trying out crafts the store has never seen, such as candle making and art and gift items. As their renovations continue, they’ll add a custom-framing counter in an area of the store that used to be a jungle of fake foliage.

“I like that it’s lighter and brighter,” Atkinson says. “The store is less cluttered.” The inventory has been replenished, and Holeczko, who was a sales representative for Gerber for 10 years and is well versed in merchandising, puts some order to it.

“A lot of people know this shop as having a lot of unusual things,” Holeczko says. The store will still continue in that tradition, as they find more artists to consign with them. The difference will be that the unusual is more in the vein of unique items from local artisans, and less in the vein of2-inch long light up aquariums. They’re also just fine with special orders, unlike many bigger stores.

To be added to the mailing list of Artful Things or for general information, email artfulthings@earthlink.net, or call 729-2600.

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