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New Hope retail round-up — Candles are out; skulls, imported apparel, crafts and leather are in

The Creeper Gallery on West Bridge Street

The Creeper Gallery on West Bridge Street

As New Hope’s busiest retail season approaches, jockeying for selling space and potential customers has begun in earnest among merchants.

First up: New Hope Candle Shop at 87B S. Main St. is calling it quits after a great run spanning many years, undoubtedly under pressure from commoditization of the product and web-based competition. They will be missed by many, although apparently not enough to stay afloat.

New Hope Candle Shop on South Main Street

New Hope Candle Shop on South Main Street

The shop next door at 87A will soon see the arrival of Bucks County Caramel Corn Clusters, its former space on West Bridge now taken over by the Creeper Art Gallery, which claims to be opening in May and will feature “fine art, antiques and peculiarities.” The items visible appear to mimic the “Creepy Cuties” of Mechanic Street Mugs and the graveyard aesthetic of Teardrop Memories, the latter of which morbidly focuses on museum-quality mourning mementos. The new shop will have to prove it has something new to offer.

Speaking of duplication, multi-decade New Hope Indian fashion mogul Mohan K. Mohinani is busy readying his new womens’ and kids’ clothing mart in the former Beyond the Wall poster location on South Main Street. Industry sources say the owner of two existing New Hope India fashion stores is building inventory strikingly similar to two existing businesses: an Indian competitor and a pan-Asian importer located at the corner of East Mechanic and South Main streets.

Mohan

Mohan

West Bridge Street will soon see the arrival of Red Tulip Gallery at 19C, featuring the work of local crafters, and expected to open in May.

Red Tulip Gallery on West Bridge Street

Red Tulip Gallery on West Bridge Street

And rounding out the local retail news, Nadeem Lou is making a go of selling fine leathers in the former In the Joint space at 115 S. Main St.

Nadeem Lou and his wares on South Main Street

Nadeem Lou and his wares on South Main Street

 

About the author

Charlie Sahner

“Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy." - Einstein

6 Comments

  • Lighten Up, folks…this is all free publicity for you and complaining about the messenger instead of the message is a real waste of time especially when you have the opportunity to respond…sometimes everyone sounds
    “childlike, small minded curmudgeons, out to prove their cleverness” and saying something “nice” all the time can get repetitive and boring. Charlie is rarely boring.

  • Wow! Charlie Sahner, could this article be any more negative and unwelcoming to the new businesses of New Hope? The tone of this article is not the unbiased announcement of new businesses, but more so a perplexing spew of childlike resentful and bitter opinions. “..claims to be opening, will have to prove, morbidly focuses..” Really? Damn, Charlie, you make New Hope residents seem like a clique of small minded curmudgeons who resent change which I am fairly certain they are not. How cliché. A good reporter who is well-steeped in his subject matter and who isn’t out to prove his cleverness can convey a point of view, which journalists aren’t supposed to have by the way, without being snarky. Charlie, if you can’t say something nice about someone, then work for the New York Times. Or is New Hope your Last Hope?

  • Hello. I am half owner of The Creeper Gallery opening on W. Bridge St. in May and I feel you should get your facts straight before you put things into print. I have been creating Gothic dolls and props for almost 20 years. So I am not copying Creepy Cuties. If anything, it is the other way around. If you check out my website http://www.DarkCreation.com you will see that I am quite well known in my genre. I have sold over 5000 pieces including items for TV, Movies and large Theme Parks. I also have a large collection of antique Memento Mori pieces which I will be selling at the new store. I feel you have done some unfair and uneducated reporting here. We have met some wonderful people in New Hope and had good vibes about the town until we read this. Have a good day sir.

  • Terribly one sided journalism here. I almost feel like this was written by someone with a problem with the Creeper Gallery. “Claims to be opening in May”? Seriously. You might as well have inserted an eye roll here because that was the intent that line was meant with. Horrible journalism. Maybe you should have waited until the store was open before casting judgment.

  • That’s a good question. Mr. Sahner, why did you show the empty window and not the finished one? I’d hate to think you’d judge a unopened place of business simply on a display prop left in an empty window. Just 3 steps to the left was a beautifully finished window on Victorian Spiritualism as a nod to our wonderful new neighbor, Jessica the Psychic. The finished window had over 20 unique pieces in it, that I think your readers would have enjoyed and I’m quite certain no one would have made the error of assuming we dealt in duplicative reproductions.
    Well, that empty window is now complete with a sculpted life size Edgar Allan Poe dressed in period clothing and a first edition Poe book, among other items. We do hope you will return and give us a real chance to show you why we are exceptional at what we do.

  • Hey, why didn’t you show the great display window at The Creeper Gallery? I googled them and found this article. I can’t wait for them to open.

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