The needlepoint shop on Bridge Street wasn’t always the go-to place for all things thread. With the building dating back to 1850, it has a long history that includes a stint as a barn and as a fish market. 

But the shop has reopened once again for needlepoint with Elizabeth Crane Swartz serving as its fifth owner. 

Swartz grew up spending vacations in Nonquitt and she and her husband bought their own Dartmouth summer home just this past April. A former customer of the previous needlepoint shop, she said, “I was sad to think that if I don’t do something, then maybe it would go away and I didn’t want that to happen.”

She spoke to the owner to let them know that if they ever thought about selling, she would be interested. Little did she know how soon that day would come. 

“This was something that fell into my lap and I couldn’t say no,” she added.

Opening up shop for the first time during Padanaram Fest weekend, Seagrass Studio offers Swartz’s hand-painted jewelry, fine art, needlepoint designs and lots of thread in all sorts of colors.

Though she has been creating and selling jewelry since the early 2000s and her needlepoint designs since the pandemic, Swartz said taking on a storefront has been “a huge learning curve.”

From a tricky point-of-sale system to managing inventory, she said it’s been a lot, but that she was excited to get started. 

“I started needle pointing in 2020, along with a lot of people, but I’ve been making hand-painted jewelry a lot longer and when I really got hooked, I didn’t see anything that I really wanted to do,” she explained

That’s when she became inspired to create some of her own designs based on her jewelry and her work grew traction online. Swartz said the needlepoint and jewelry together “tells a great story” and she’s always sure to bring both when visiting shops around the country.

Now the shop features: “99% my designs, my color explosion, my graphic sense — all of that,” she said.

“I’m all about color,” she noted and she wasn’t exaggerating. Inside the shop, the walls are filled with her vibrant designs and shelves full of colorful thread. 

Her favorite? “Don’t tell the others, but green.”

The business also has a number of seats and lounging areas, encouraging customers to stick around beyond their shopping needs.

“I would love a Stitch Night,” Swartz said, noting how the needlepoint community often travels to different shops around the country, and “I’m really looking forward to making this a destination. … The town, the businesses, the community – it’s all awesome and I would love for other people to know that.”

She added she would also like to eventually have opportunities for classes at the shop such as a Nantucket bracelet weaving demonstration or a visible mending class. 

“I’m a very basic stitch and I would love to learn more about the different stitches you can do, the different beading you can do, all the different fibers that are available and I’m sure there’s other people who would love to know as well,” she said.

With just her at the shop for now, hours are limited to Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The shop will be closed Aug. 8 and 9 as she will be featured in the NQT Art Show, which is set to take place at 687 Smith Neck Road Saturday, Aug. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 10 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. She said eventually she would like to have the shop open four to five days a week with one night open later for a Stitch Night.