Six months after falling in love with the city of Concord, a young couple who grew up in Idaho are opening a high-end, premium market featuring handmade goods next week on South Main Street.

In the former location of Simply Birkenstock, Makers on Main will feature up to 40 vendors from New England selling their handmade and handcrafted products year-round, including birdbaths made of recycled pots, wood-mounted photos that were taken throughout the country, mined minerals transformed into jewelry, and sustainable cloth products to name a few.

Both James and Maraya Brooks, 25, are makers themselves – he crafts leather products like wallets and she makes seasonal wreaths. Their goods will also be sold in the store.

“It started as a hobby and then became full-time,” James said.

While exploring Concord, James and Maraya Brooks discovered many stores throughout the city that sold products from individual vendors. Inspired by the handcrafted products, they had the idea to open a market where vendors could sell exclusively from one location to build a better bond with their customers. 

“It’s not just a product, it’s a person,” Maraya said. “When someone buys your products, you get that little excited dance.”

Vendors are required to pay a lease fee for a guaranteed three-month period and a 20% commission that supports and the overhead for the store, like rent, utility costs, credit card processing fees and payroll. Other craft markets charge their vendors up to 50%.

After three months, vendors can leave if they’re unsatisfied with the space or if their products aren’t doing well. However, James and Maraya Brooks expect to have a lengthy list of vendors waiting for a spot in their store.

“We are thrilled to be in such a central location and excited for the opening of the new store,” said Kim Ricard, owner of Zero Waste Life NH, which creates all natural and reusable cloth products.

What started as a hobby for her later became a big draw during the pandemic when households and stores ran out of paper products, leaving people to flock to Ricard to purchase reusable baby diapers, sanitation products, paper towels, toilet paper, sponges and even popcorn bags.

Ricard’s business partner, Sarah Bessey, began as a client of Ricard’s four years ago when her son was born. Now, she helps to run the business, which began over 10 years ago.

Ricard built her business online and this is the first time she will be selling their product in a store, she said. Usually, her products are bought through Etsy.

How it started

After the death of James’ parents, he felt overwhelmed by the memories of their small town and needed to explore, he said.

The pair left their jobs in Idaho, bought an RV and began traveling the country with no expectations to restart their lives in Concord.

Throughout their travels, they spent Christmas Eve swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, rescued a dog that later had seven puppies in the RV’s closet and adopted a parrot named Duckie.

With the flexibility of Maraya’s job as a traveling nurse and James’s ability to craft on the road, they could save their money and look for the perfect place to relocate and raise a family. When they found Concord, the homeliness and small-town community reminded them of home and they made their decision to put down roots.

“We’re used to that small-town feel and we traveled to find a town that felt more like home,” Maraya said. “We have been in Concord six months now and love that it’s community oriented and the neighbors have been helpful and welcoming.”

They soon began looking for leasing spaces in the downtown area. When they heard that Simply Birkenstock was relocating, they took advantage of the opportunity to start their own business and can’t wait for the grand opening next week.

“It’s the perfect fit,” James said.

Simply Birkenstock, which operated out of their South Main Street storefront for 11 years is reopening this month a few blocks away on North Main Street where Concord Photo Services, which closed in the spring, used to call home.

With the popularity of Birkenstocks and other unique brands, the store outgrew the small store and now will have twice the space at the new location, said employee Adam Sloat.

United Shoe Repair, a full-service cobbler that has been operating in the city for 113 years through four generations that began with Italian immigrants, will remain in  place at the back of the South Main Street store with Makers on Main.

Editor’s note: This story has been changed to clarify the owners’ idea behind the new store in downtown Concord. 

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