Farewell to Charms

Come tomorrow, they’ll be gone.

But not forgotten. And not really gone, either, if we’re being honest. The fact is, Toni Sawyer and Marie Foley, who most everybody knows as the sisters who filled Concord Hand Designs with products eclectic as their personalities, will close the shop tomorrow, May 15, after 28 years.

The past 26 of those have been spent establishing an anchor business in Concord Center and nurturing the kind of deep roots from which a vibrant independent business community could grow and thrive. In that time, Sawyer and Foley have been frequent, colorful participants in fundraisers, holiday shopping nights, town events and informal conversations with customers who’ve become friends.

“It’s always kind of been store first, Concord second,” said Foley, a past president of the Concord Indies. “It’s a wonderful small American town that has a Main Street and community that cares about how the town develops. And it’s fun to be involved in that.”

Building a Brand

It’s always been Concord Hand Designs. Even before there was a store in Concord, there were hand designs.

In the beginning, it was hand-painted crocks, which Sawyer made in her kitchen and began selling at Faneuil Hall. The business expanded from there. At one point, Sawyer had seven locations, including one in Charleston, SC, that Foley ran while she was down South.

Foley moved up north and they shut the Charleston store after Hurricane Hugo in 1989. “It was so much fun working with her that we went to just one store and we did it together,” said Sawyer.

As the stores consolidated, the inventory expanded. Over time, the Hand Designs inventory evolved from almost exclusively their own product to only handmade in the USA to high-end gift shop to, as the recession settled in, a low- to mid-range shop with concentrations of seasonal and Concord-centric products.

One thing never changed: The customers.

So loyal are the Concord Hand Designs customers that Foley and Sawyer have found themselves playing the role of counselors as often as retailers in the months since word of their closing began to spread.

There are customers who have come every day since March 1. There are customers who come in with chocolates or flowers or wearing dark glasses to hid their crying eyes. And then there’s the Newton native out in Phoenix who was one of Sawyer’s customers at Faneuil Hall and called last week after finding out via Facebook that Hand Designs was closing.

“So many people have come in and said they’ve appreciated what we’ve done,” said Sawyer. “It’s been a fabulous ride.”

Not Goodbye. See You Around

For birthday presents, holiday decorations, swap gifts and cards just because, Concord Hand Designs has been a place where locals—which made up about 70 percent of the business—could find something for all occasions.

“We love the town and everyone in it, and always felt supported so that factored into the decision,” said Foley. “We knew the town was going to miss it and take a hit.”

But they felt, and feel, that the time is right. So when their lease came up, Sawyer and Foley looked at their ages, their health, the business and decided it was time. Better to go out now, on top and on their terms, than to let it ride for another five or six years. 

“It was extremely hard,” Sawyer said, “But it was the right decision.”

When news of the store's closing began to spread, there was some perception Hand Designs was being “forced out,” and that Comella’s would be taking its space. The latter part of that sentence is true, but the former is false, according to Foley and Sawyer.

“So much support. People come in and ask us if we can change our mind, or go to Comella’s and yell at them,” said Foley with a laugh. “When people find out that we weren’t forced out, they’re happy and friendly.”

At 5 p.m. today, Concord Hand Designs will close for the very last time.

Windows that for so long welcomed passersby into the retail version of a pu pu platter will be covered with paper. And the paper covered with an image of Foley and Sawyer, smiling and sharing their email addresses. Everyone who walked through that door was considered a potential friend, and those they made they aim to keep.

Their store may be closing, but the sisters aren’t going anywhere. They came from New York, but have made a home in Concord.

Sawyer will continue making things like headbands and hats by hand and selling them at craft fairs. "This is my community," Sawyer said of Concord, where she's lived since 1979.

Foley, who lives in Littleton, has launched a new business called Revolutionary Concord, which is stocking kiosks at the Visitor Center and Concord Flower Shop with Concord gifts and souvenirs. She’ll also be doing glitter tattoo parties and, of course, dying her hair to change with the seasons.

It’s blue now, the bangs anyway. But don’t mistake the hue as a reflection of mood; Foley says that’s her Patriots’ Day color. And you can count on seeing it again next year, when she’s selling tickets to the ball.