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Shop Talk
Sm all Things
F o ra
Prettier L ife
I Like You
501 First Ave. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
612-208-0249
ilikeyouonline.com
W HEN DID C R A F T EARN ITS
street cred? In Minneapolis,
it happened right around April
2009. That’s when the indepen-
dent boutique I Like You moved
into the city’s vanguard North-
east neighborhood, shacking up
next door to an accounting-
office-turned-art-gallery and
throwing open its doors to the
bohemians prowling the block.
With its Astroturf carpeting,
re-appropriated library furni-
ture, and tattoo-sleeved spitfire
owners, the shop embodies the
new vogue for urban craft. Spe-
cializing in “small things for a
prettier life,” I Like You sells
work produced almost exclu-
sively by Minnesota artists.
W e sat down with founders
and co-owners Sarah Sweet
and Angela Lessman.
You two are practically the
patron saints of crafting cool.
How did handmade get so hip?
What do you make of craft’s
rapid ascendancy on the pop-
culture ladder?
Angela Lessman:
How did this
stuff get so hip?
Sarah Sweet:
Thanks, Etsy!
[Laughs.] I think people are just
really proud of what they make.
And when you get to see what
other people have made, and
you figure out that you can do
that, too.
.. Etsy opened up a
whole new world for people.
You don’t get cool craft stores
out in the country; that website
opened the scene up to every-
body. You can post your project
online, you can sell, and you get
automatic feedback. So it’s not
like, hey, [only] my aunt Mar-
tha really liked what I made her
for Christmas.
..
Or maybe craft has always
been hip, and the younger
crowd is just noticing now?
SS: N000, it hasn’t. I remember
getting a hand-knit vest from
my grandma and thinking:
What in the world does she
think I’m going to do with this?
But 15 years later I was totally
wearing it. Everything is so
cyclical. Everything.
.. Now,
with things like Etsy, it’s more
accessible.
So do you have to keep hipsters
in mind when you’re selecting
merchandise?
SS:
No. That’s one of the great-
est lessons that we learned do-
ing this store: to be true to our
aesthetic. And not to fold for
anyone. You can’t order work
because you think the masses
are going to love it.
You have a very formal process
for evaluating would-be con-
signors, which makes you kind
of like art dealers, curating a
constantly evolving gallery.
Do you ever think of the store
as a gallery? If so, how would
you describe its aesthetic?
AL:
This is probably not how
other businesses do it, but we
will see a product and we know:
That’ll look so good in our
store. It’s not, “Oh, these are
going to sell like mad.” It has
to actually fit the space.
SS:
We had to learn to say
“no” effectively.
AL:
Because we had so many
people coming in trying to
schlep their work on us in the
middle of a holiday party or
something. We had to make it a
formal process. We want to be
proud of what we sell.
What’s the role of a brick-and-
mortar shop in this age of Etsy?
SS:
It’s tactile. It’s instant grati-
fication. I applaud everybody
who has an Etsy store. But if
I’m considering buying some-
thing, I want to see it. I want to
touch it.
AL:
And there’s no replacing
going out and about and seeing
real people.
-G REG O R Y J. SCOTT
Gregory J. Scott is a freelance
writer and art-scene gadabout in
Minneapolis.
Left: Co-owners Sarah
Sweet and Angela
Lessman’s boutique has
a laid-back, welcoming
vibe. Lcssman’s daugh-
ter Lux is often on hand.
Below: Crocheted
beverage cozies are one
incarnation of the shop’s
retro-hip aesthetic.
Jewelry sells well, from
hand-cut sterling silver
necklaces (above) to ear-
rings made with recycled
bike inner tubes and
salvaged leather (right).
016 american craft fcb/m arn
Photos: Stephanie Colgan
