One of my great joys finding a new place to sell my sea glass jewelry and hair accessories. Recently, I set up “shop” on Bear Skin Neck in Rockport at Alexander’s Pottery.
Lisa Gove, the owner has a fun story to tell about the history of the shop and her five year journey into retail.
Tell us about how you got into this business & why (your passion)? Also, a little about the history of the shop?
The shop has been around since early 1960’s. Originally it was an outlet for Bennington Pottery owned and operated by the Alexander family. I am the third owner and took it over from the Meringers.
I had no background in retail, but I was a new transplant to Cape Ann, and my children were in college. I was looking for a way to find roots in the community. Since I love shopping and am lovingly called a “shopaholic” by my closest friends, I thought I would try my hand at retail Initially, I purchased the House of Glass and Happy Whale – which came as a package. When it came time for the Meringers to completely retire, they approached me to buy Alexander’s. It was unexpected and exciting.
What did you do to enter into a totally new field like retail?
The first thing I did was get in touch with Center for Women in Enterprise and attended all their seminars related to owning a retail business – retail merchandise, small biz accounting, employment, etc. It was a total immersion. I am a member of the Small Business Association and through the SBA I was able to do a SCORE mentorship. This was a very positive experience and I had mentors that were mostly locals of Cape Ann – in business or retired from certain sectors – banking, insurance, legal, etc… The SCORE meetings were all held in Rockport. From that experience, I recall people like Leo Bergeron from the Cape Ann Savings Bank being particularly helpful. My predecessors Jane and Dick Meringer were/are wonderful mentors as were local shop owners, Rusty and Ingrid who I connected with through SCORE.
What makes this shop special and how have you chosen the items in your shop? What do people LOVE to buy there?
Alexanders is the only true pottery shop in Rockport. When I took over the business, the first thing I did was edit the collections and in particular the gifts and accessories to bring Alexanders back to the way it started – with a more pottery centric focus.
The way I choose the products lends to their natural appeal as handmade pieces. We have a wide assortment of potters, from very local (Cynthia Curtis from Pigeon Cove), to Bozeman, Montana. I try to bring in potters that have specialized techniques whether it be the glaze, clay body, or form. Our customers are seeking handmade, unique pieces and they appreciate the love and experience that goes into them.
Beyond the pottery, I work with other artisans that make jewelry, home décor, and holiday ornaments. I try to include items that I believe the Alexander’s customer would like to buy for themselves and others.
What is the “vibe” of your shop gallery? Typical customer?
My customers are people that really like to take time to look. They are not fast shoppers! They want to take it all in, they like to touch
the pieces and hear about the artists.
The shop layout is intentional; you can see and understand what we sell immediately. It’s set up so that the customer can savor the pieces and have an immersive, hands-on experience. It’s not a gallery with pieces behind glass. Overall, it’s calm and elevated.
What is your favorite event/special night that everyone should know about in your area?
My personal favorite is Rockport Illuminations night which falls on August 8th this summer. It’s a totally unexpected and magical evening. All the shops put out lanterns and the town has an amazing fireworks display. It’s so much fun and relatively unknown compared to all the other summer events – but it’s truly one of the best.
What would you love to see change in the world of shopping?
I would like to see a resurgence of “Main Street.” We’re losing the mentality to “go downtown.” Too many small shops have closed, and big box stores have taken over. I enjoy the search for the “perfect” gift, I enjoy the familiarity of the “local” shop, and I don’t believe I’m the only one
The TideKeepers Project is a public art initiative created to reconnect people with the ocean, the tides, and the natural rhythms of the coastline through permanent tide interactive sculptures installed throughout Cape Ann. Each sculpture is envisioned as a unique guardian of its location, designed to interact directly with the movement of the tide and the surrounding environment.
covered again by the rising water, almost as if the ocean itself was breathing life into the sculpture. That vision naturally led me to the larger idea behind The TideKeepers Project: that each coastal town deserves its own guardian connected to the sea, its stories, and its identity.
What is the current state of the sculpture in the artistic process?
How can people get involved and what kind of help is needed?
One of the first-borns of this process was the Anchor Collection. This evolved out of a local call to artists for the theme H2O. It’s become one of my favorites and a top seller! The inspiration came directly from staring at old mushroom anchors we threw in to the garden. More importantly, it allowed me to use my half-bottlenecks – a really funky sea glass shard that was bothering me.
a new home up front and center at Alexander’s Pottery!
First, it’s about the size of the pieces. Chunky, funky pieces have puzzled me for years. But now I am getting more comfortable with different drill bits and finding I can create a new series of pendants. I’ve even gone back into jars that I had given up for “too thick to conquer” and re-imagined some of the pieces.
