While the summer tourist season has wound down, one Lenox business, Concepts of Art, is gearing up for a busy season of consecutive Jewish holidays beginning with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year on September 15Concepts of Art, located at 65 Church St. in the center of town, was founded in 1990 by Lynda Strauch, and is now operated by her son Samuel Haupt and his wife Tracy.
“It’s a gallery/boutique with an eclectic collection of Judaica and other items,” said Samuel Haupt. “We curate it carefully to offer quality and a selection that is unique.”
The 650 square foot space is filled with products ranging from whimsical and playful to elegant and refined. Among the selection are artworks, candles, jewelry, stationary, apparel, toys, and a variety of other decorative home goods, personal accessories and gifts. Many of the items are handcrafted by artists and makers from the Berkshires and throughout the U.S., as well as Israel.
It has an emphasis on Jewish heritage and culture. That includes ceremonial and gift items for religious ceremonies, holidays and observances, such as Menorahs, Dreidels, Mezuzahs, Challah boards and knives, and washing cups, among others. There are also novelty items, like a baseball cap that says Go Red Sox in Hebrew.
However, Haupt emphasized that Concepts of Art also has broad appeal. “It’s not just a Jewish or religious store,” he said. “We carry items for everyone, whatever their background and interests. We have an extensive selection of jewelry, for example, that can appeal to anyone, whether they are Jewish or not.”This mix is unique in the region. Haupt noted that Concepts of Art attracts a combination of local customers from throughout the Berkshires, tourists, and people from other regions of western Massachusetts, upstate New York, Connecticut and Vermont.
“We’re fortunate in that we’re a destination,” he said. “There are people who make trips to Lenox specifically to visit the store because we carry things they can’t find anywhere else. We also have customers who discover us while visiting Lenox and become regular customers from as far away as south Florida.”
While it is a well-established business, Concepts of Art has been through a transition in recent years.
Samuel grew up in Lenox, and helped out in the store when he was young. Later, he moved to Florida and Colorado. He met Tracy, who is originally from Florida, while living in that state.
The couple, who are in their early 40’s, previously had management careers in the restaurant industry helping to establish and build restaurant groups, Most recently they worked as directors for the TAG Restaurant Group based in Denver.
In 2020 the couple decided they wanted a change from the high-pressure world of restaurants. The problems related to the COVID pandemic intensified this desire.
“We had been looking at different options,” Haupt said. “At the time we were seriously considering opening a shop in Scottsdale, Arizona.”
Meanwhile Strauch, who divides her time between Lenox and Florida, had decided to close Concepts of Art. (She also owns the Wit Gallery in Lenox, which she continues to operate.)
That opened up an opportunity for Samuel and Tracy.
“We thought about it and the chance to move back to Lenox and run that business was very appealing,” said Haupt. “So we purchased it from my mother.”
The transition raised a number of challenges.
In an immediate sense, they took over Concepts of Art in the summer of 2020, when all businesses were struggling to find ways to survive and adapt to the legal restrictions, changing behavior of the public, and sales declines during the initial Covid pandemic.
“We came at a time when businesses were starting to reopen and people were beginning to come out again, but it was still not back to normal,” said Haupt. “But we recognized that and knew it would take a while, so we were prepared.”
On a more basic level, they also had to find a balance between modernizing the business and putting their own stamp on it, while retaining the qualities and loyal customer base that had been the basis of its success.
“Everything changes including styles and tastes,” he said. “And the Berkshires and Lenox have also experienced demographic shifts. So you have to try different things. Our goal has been to bring in fresh ideas and the benefits of our experience in growing businesses in the modern economy.”
That has included adding more contemporary items that appeal to younger customers. “I’d say the store now attracts people in their 20s and 30’s as well as those up to their 90’s,” he said.
That balance is also reflected in their relationship with technology and the trend towards e-commerce over brick-and-mortar retailing.
Haupt said that digital technology is useful and necessary, and they utilize it. They have a website and online catalogue (www.conceptsofart.com), and they also interact with customers through digital communications. However Haupt said this is more a supplement for convenience of customers than a primary focus.
“One of the things that saved us during the pandemic, for example, was Facetime (a video messaging service) and cellphones,” he said. “Customers could connect with us and we would give them them a video tour of the place and show them particular items they were interested in.”
However, ultimately the couple continue to prefer and emphasize a more personalized and direct approach.
“Technology is important but I have mixed feelings about it,” he said. “I don’t like social media, for example, and we don’t do much with that. I know we could reach a lot of people by doing things like e-mail blasts, but we’d rather make connections in other ways. For us, the important aspect is the personal experience of shoppers in the store and human interactions and relationships.”
He noted that this includes services like individual gift-wrapping of items.
During the Covid pandemic, they also made more direct physical adjustments, such as enabling customers who were concerned about safety to make arrangements to go into the space without staff or other shoppers inside. “We would also take a selection of items to people’s homes and put them on the porch, so they could look and make purchases without going to the store,” he said.
Looking forward, Haupt believes many shoppers are rediscovering and returning to more traditional forms of shopping.
“Online retailing certainly isn’t going away,” he said. “But people are also wanting to get back to shopping in stores. There’s a lot of distrust and suspicion of the Internet. People are also enjoying the experience of going to small towns and exploring. Lenox is a great location for that.”
The Haupts have also focused on updating other aspects of the business. They freshened up the interior and built a porch with firepit in the front where people can relax.
Inside they play vinyl records on a turntable at the front of the store to add to the atmosphere. “We play everything from Leonard Bernstein and other classical music to popular performers like James Taylor and Jim Croce throughout the day,” he said.
They also have placed an emphasis on community engagement. They sponsor social gatherings, such as a Bubbles and Bagels party at the beginning of summer, as well as presenting meet-the-artist receptions, live music, and talks.
They also believe in making the business, which has a staff of two additional people, as accessible as possible. It is open throughout the year seven days a week (with the exception of a few holidays). Its basic hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. but Haupt noted that they often stay open later for as long as customers continue coming in.
“We are often open until midnight during the summer,” he said. “We believe that’s important because people want to stay out and do things after they’ve gone out for dinner or a concert is over. I’d like to see more businesses in Lenox stay open late to provide that.”
They acquire their inventory through various sources and feature individual artists and producers from the Berkshires and elsewhere.
“We do a lot of traveling in the winter,” he said. “On those trips we go hunting. We visit different places, primarily around the U.S. and look at merchandise in shops and galleries. When we see something we like and want to carry, we contact the artists and build a relationship with them.”
