78 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM with getting the word out. “I know some of the tricks to getting yourself to show up in the search rankings,” she says with a smile. Her first Christmas season running Lark will be a learning experience but Eilish plans to present the best in handcrafted goods to customers. “I don’t like waste and disposable things, so there will be some holiday items but things that can be used year-round.” She hopes people will make the trip to Lark with their shopping list. “You are supporting local artists and helping that community to grow and thrive.” From learning how to sew as a teenager to working in high tech and, now, to owning a store full of handmade objects, Eilish says it feels like life has come full circle. With Lark, she’s able to share the joy of making things while offering a showcase for her fellow handcrafters and artisans. “Craft is important,” she says. “It helps us appreciate our hands as well as our brains.” {home & design} ning the store alone does have its advantages. “I can change what I am doing and shift my focus without having to refer to anyone else. I can be independent and active, so it makes it quite fluid.” Originally drawn to Lark for a leather workshop, Eilish says she was eager to expand the workshop program. “It fits with what I want the store to be about: meeting people and making things.” There is a regular schedule of classes held on Wednesday evenings, which include making leather totes with Eilish and watercolors with one of the artists whose work is sold in the store. The classes are held in a room behind the shop floor and are small in size, partly due to space considerations but also because she wants students to get individual attention. “It means it can be more personal,” Eilish says. Recently, she has branched out with offerings that have a wellness focus, like sessions with a life coach and a healing sound bath experience. Participants hear about the workshops through the store’s website and Instagram. Eilish’s former career in high tech has helped shop local larksancarlos.com objects by local artists and running a store that is ecologically friendly. How does a small shop compete with online giants like Amazon and Etsy? Eilish concedes that trying to run a viable brick-and-mortar business is extremely challenging. “I am not trying to compete with online. I am trying to sell things that are unique and local … things you can’t buy elsewhere.” Another challenge has been learning how to run a retail business largely on her own. Eilish is the sole person staffing the store every day except Sunday, when she hands it over to a part-time assistant “so I can have a cappuccino with my husband.” She is quick to point out that run-
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