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  • Crafty Concepts owner/operator Tonya Nichols arranges tutus at her downtown Stillwater store.

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  • Tonya Nichols is owner/operator of Crafty Concepts, 706 S. Main in Stillwater. Her sons, A.J., 19, Craig, 15, and Jesse, 7, help around the business.

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March 7, 2010

Stillwater residents opens crafter's mall downtown

By Chris Day Stillwater NewsPress

STILLWATER, Okla. — Tonya Nichols grew up in a family-owned printing business. She also enjoyed craftwork and sold items in a crafter’s mall. So, it was a tiny leap to combine the two into a downtown Stillwater business.

Crafty Concepts opened in November at 706 S. Main. The store is filled with handmade leathergoods, jewelry, clothing, curios and what nots. All made by Stillwater-area residents.

At Crafty Concepts, craftmakers rent booth space and fill booths with their crafts. Mrs. Nichols and her family sell the products, take 5 percent of each sale for service fees. The rest goes to the crafters.

“All are local. We don’t have any farther out than Ponca City, and I consider that local,” she said.

So far, 34 of approximately 50 booth spaces are rented.

“We do all the sales work,” she said.

Eventually, Mrs. Nichols said she would like to sell some of her family’s crafts in the store, but hasn’t had time to make any, yet.

“It’s what I love,” Mrs. Nichols said. “It’s great to find something you love and do it with your family.”

Nichols works full-time at the store. Her husband, Tim, and their three sons, A.J., 19, Craig, 15, and Jesse, 7, help out, she said.

Crafty Concepts is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays.

Tim Nichols owns and operates a business that installs security equipment in jails. The family moved to Stillwater about five years ago from Amarillo, Texas. Mr. Nichols installed some of the security equipment in the Payne County Jail, Mrs. Nichols said.

“We love Stillwater,” she said. “It’s a wonderful place to raise children.”

Currently, Mrs. Nichols is developing a Web site for her business. She’s doing it herself.

“My sister’s a graphic designer. I’ve got a lot of experience in computers, but I haven’t built a Web site before,” she said.

When the Web site is completed, its Web address will be www.craftyconcepts.net.

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