Andrea Brundige has fond memories of the former Central School in New Ipswich.
As the most recent tenant in what is now known as the School Yard, opening Artful Spirit Gallery & Gifts in November, Brundige can’t help but go down memory lane every time she walks in the downtown location that was converted into a retail/office building. And she’s not alone.
“Everybody who comes in has something to say about it,” she said.
The studio of Marilyn Stowe Photography is in her first grade classroom, Fade Away Barber Shop occupies her second grade classroom and Willow Tree Yoga and Meditation is located where Brundige spent her third grade year.
When the building was being renovated, Brundige thought it would be kind of neat to open a shop there. After all, it is where she went from first through fourth grade. She had thought about the space in the center of her hometown a few years ago, but the timing wasn’t right. In October, she saw a sign indicating spaces in the renovated school were available for rent and figured this was as good a time as any.
“You talk about your dreams and what you want to do,” she said. “I always wanted a little gift shop.”
When she got home that day, she went on Facebook and the first thing she saw was an ad for the School Yard.
“That was a sign for sure,” Brundige said.
So she texted her husband Lyle to call her as soon as he could. One thing led to another and on Nov. 20, she opened the doors to Artful Spirit.
“I just said I guess I’m going for it,” Brundige said.
Having worked in retail a good chunk of her life, she always wanted a place of her own, where she could offer items that she wanted to sell.
As a painter, she got to know many other creative people in the area. And what Brundige quickly learned was that there was a need for somewhere for the lesser known artists and artisans to showcase their work. So when she decided to move forward with the space, she put a call out to those she knew would jump at the opportunity for a spot where the public could both see and buy their works.
“I’m trying to find people that aren’t out there yet,” she said.
Brundige opened with 18 vendors and after a busy holiday season is working to find her niche in the town she grew up in.
She will be the first to admit that she never received any formal art training. Brundige started painting as a way to get through some personal things going on in her life. She quickly found it to be rewarding and began working to make unique pieces that catch the eye. She creates original works on canvas, but also has paintings on bottles and chunks of wood.
The gallery features an artist of the month and has a wide variety of mediums for sale – from handmade doll clothes, picturesque scenes on saws, jewelry, stained glass hangings and more.
“You don’t have to make art worth a million dollars,” she said.
The shop doubles as Brundige’s studio, but she finds it hard to etch out time to paint as much as she’d like. That’s because just over two months into her latest business, she works tirelessly to make the store look as appealing as possible to prospective customers.
“It doesn’t feel like a job to me,” she said. “Look at what I’m surrounded by, people’s hearts are all around me.”
Brundige grew up in New Ipswich, went to the former Appleton School for grades five and six and Mascenic for seventh through senior year. Not only did she attend Central School, but so did her dad, grandmother and daughter.
At the age of 17, she signed up for the Marine Corp. after a visit by recruiters to Mascenic High School.
“I saw them come in the school and I was impressed,” Brundige said. “I like structure and I wasn’t doing well in school.”
She served a little less than three years after turning 18, performing postal clerk duties, before entering the individual ready reserve. But in the early 1990s, when the Gulf War sent members of the US military to Iraq, Brundige was called back to help fill the void in the states. Her daughter Erin was just 2 years old and spent a few months with her parents as she fulfilled her reserve duties.
“Getting called back made me see what the military was all about,” she said. “It was a proud moment for me.”
But it was tough being away from her young daughter.
“Everyone of us was pulled away from our lives,” Brundige said. “I learned a lot in that short amount of time about serving my country.”
She lived in Texas on two different occasions, including a 14-year stretch until 2012. That is when she decided to come back home for good.
“I dreamed about the seasons, the mountains, the streets. I never took it for granted,” she said. “I don’t ever want to leave again.”
She owned her own cleaning business for a few years, but it was a difficult schedule and even tougher on her body. That’s when she started thinking about doing something different – something that she would satisfy her creative side.
“It’s mine, so I don’t have to answer to anyone else,” Brundige said.
Artful Spirit is just that. It blends her experience in retail with her love of the arts. She hopes that others will see her passion and understand the value in what her collection of artists create.
“If people don’t use their talents that’s the true sin,” Brundige said.
Brundige said she’s a shy person, which doesn’t exactly fit the criteria needed to interact with people on a daily basis as the owner of a small business. But it’s her passion for the art and the people she works with that makes it easy to put aside her fears.
She’s always collected books, but does so these days on a much smaller scale than she used to.
“They’re hard to move,” she said.
Brundige likes to read and learn about religion and archeology and history. “I’d love to find the oldest human remains on Earth,” she said.
Many years ago, she produced one issue of a magazine titled “New Ipswich: Town of 7 Villages” and has thought about revisiting the idea now that she’s a small business owner in the heart of downtown.
Having only been married to Lyle for a year, the two are branching out and doing things they’ve never done before, like going to the ballet and professional bull riding. They also have a trip to Italy planned for this year.
Her daughter Erin, now 30, lives in Texas with her 10-year-old granddaughter Lydia. Her son Jacob, 25, lives in New Ipswich.
She’s proud of the town she grew up in. It’s where she always envisioned living and a big reason why she came back. And Brundige saw no better way to embrace her community than investing in it – especially in her former elementary school that brings back so many fond memories.