essential shopping
Anthology
Shifting Out of Neutral by Kyle Jacobson Pixar’s Ratatouille features Auguste Gusteau, a chef who proclaimed anyone can cook. His belief is that cooking is not meant to be restricted to those with culinary backgrounds. Ego, the movie’s food critic, has a second interpretation: “Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come
from anywhere.” On Madison’s State Street, the sisters Komai, Sachi and Laura, employ a similar philosophy to Anthology, their paper and craft store. Simply put, anyone can art. That heartening message is clear before entering; a busy display window shows off crafted merchandise incorporating snarky witticisms, uplifting creeds, and local artwork. Nothing overly extravagant. They’re saying, in Laura’s words, “Hey, you can be creative. These are ways you can bring creativity into your life. ... Really, the core mission of Anthology is to facilitate creativity.” Anthology addresses its mission by functioning as both a workshop and a gift shop. The workshop aspect (temporarily on hold as of this writing because of COVID-19) allows for people to partake in acts of art no matter their skill level or interests. Have an idea for a button? Bring in your design, pay a buck, and use the button press. Looking for something to do with a few friends? Reserve a craft party and customize your own decoupage mirror.
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“To me, art is simple things,” says Laura. “Like that core of putting pencil down on paper, whether it’s drawing or how you’re corresponding and connecting with people. Just sending them a card and putting some cute little tape on the background of it.” As for the gift shop aspect of Anthology, this is not only how the sisters Komai sell their own artwork, but the work of other local and independent artists. They even go out and find artists when they have a particular concept in mind. “We would go to these huge stationery shows,” says Laura. “I’d say, ‘We really need to work on representing people of color.’ We’d walk around these stationery shows, and there aren’t any there. We’d be like, ‘Well, I guess we couldn’t really find anybody.’ “Then it was just recognizing that you have to go back a few more steps before that because not everybody can make it to the stationery show. It’s this huge commitment in terms of money to get to that point. To say I can’t find anyone there doesn’t mean that anyone
