Studio Seven Artisans Makes Room for Groove It Music+Merch
Studio Seven Artisans has decided to open up their back room to make way for Groove It Music+Merch, “Miramichi’s little record store that could”.
Studio Seven Artisans Shop
During the Summer of 2017, Sandra transformed her backyard garage into an all-things-art store. “I’m proud to say that the store is also now home to Caitlyn Crawford’s Freedom 23 Apparel and Stephanie Clark-Fowler’s Thrift Ho clothes”, says Sandra. “And we also have the award-winning Christopher Doiron Pottery, locally made Clean Suds soap products and, of course, my whole line of Seven Threads designs.”
Just as the structure was being prepped for the elements of the colder months, this past Autumn, Sandra came up with a last-minute idea that would give Studio Seven Artisans a unique twist. While on a “thrifting” trip to Fredericton, she decided that her store needed a used vinyl section, of all things. “My partner, Wynn [Curtis], had wanted to bring in local musicians’ products to help promote their crafts & the idea certainly fit what the space is all about”, says Sandra. “It’s something that he’s been doing with his Groove It Music+Merch online “store” through his Gig & Groove promo page, for the last couple of years. So, it was obvious that Groove It needed to be included in the shop. But he [Wynn] always said that if he had something else to balance it out, to attract more music buyers toward local artists, he’d feel like he was really accomplishing something special. So, during a visit to a couple of the capital’s downtown record shops, we surmised about whether used records sales could succeed at home & hopefully turn those shoppers on to the local stuff, at the same time.
Groove It Music+Merch is more than just a record store, of sorts. Additionally, it’s now the main office of Miramichi’s Gig & Groove Magazine. “In all actuality, it’s a little think tank for artists, mostly musicians, to meet up and hang out, bounce ideas around”, Wynn explains. “Besides, us music nerds need to have some place to hang out around here. Haha! It’s a great space to discuss projects & be creative, really. The bonus is that we just happen to be surrounded by hundreds of pristine records. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that!”
Whether you’re a real purist audiophile or simply a shopper that just wants good records to spin for those leisurely entertainment purposes, Groove It Music+Merch is all about filling the bins with vinyl that’s in the best condition they can find. And when you step through the door at Studio Seven Artisans, you’ll instantly see that great care has been taken to provide their shoppers with records that will bring years & years of enjoyment, worry free.
“We don’t just slap any old vinyl up on the shelves and sell as is”, says Wynn. “You won’t find anything ratty in the sleeves in here, believe me. There’s a whole quality control process that we put each & every record through. We start by carefully cleaning the outer jackets. We like to remove any old pricing stickers or whatever, if possible, anything that takes away from the appearance of the original album art. Then, we give the records a proper bath in our spin clean solution so that the brushes can work to remove years & years of dust & other residue. The record then drips nearly dry for a few minutes. And then each individual record is buffed off with a static-free micro fibre cloth. The whole process is like a face lift, returning the record as close as possible to the days of its glorious youth.
“Our ratings are basically the same system that most of the other respected record stores out there are using to price their used stock”, Wynn explains. “The only possible difference that I can think of is that we might be a little fussier about the actual cleaning process than some of the other sellers may be. But for us, it’s all about the collector leaving the shop feeling like their used vinyl purchases are as crisp as they’ll find anywhere around. Our theory is that that loyalty to the buyer will keep us around for the long haul. That’s our hope, anyway.”
Since Groove It Music+Merch also doubles as Gig & Groove’s “hq”, the little back room think tank coincides perfectly with Seven Threads creative studio space. “I have my old basement studio that gets a lot of use for designing & re fashioning”, explains Sandra. “It’s also a great space for other artists to come in & create or to hold workshops. So the idea is that the Seven Threads studio & the Studio Seven Artisans store are both designed, hand in hand, to completely support artists of all types. We even have a beautiful, intimate backyard space that makes a great little hangout in the warmer months. And plans are already under way to make better use of that space for visual artists & musicians alike. It’s exciting making dreams become reality. And it’s especially thrilling to watch other artists grow & succeed, too. For us, that’s what real community is all about.”
Studio Seven Artisans & Groove It Music+Merch will celebrate their grand opening on Saturday, April 21st. For the event, Sandra & Wynn promise that they have a few surprises in their sleeves. Studio Seven is located at 242 Sweeney Lane, Miramichi. Currently, the store is open from Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 7pm, weekly. You can also shop by appointment, by calling: Seven Threads / Studio Seven Artisans: (506) 625-6877 or Groove It Music+Merch / Gig & Groove Magazine : (506) 625-8817
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