ISLANDER PHOTO BY NINAH GILE
NORTHEAST HARBOR — Artist Tim Murphy of Northeast Harbor recently opened a new store on Main Street called Tim Murphy Studios with his business developer Kent Schmidt. Located at 146 Main Street, the store offers personalized art and home furnishings along with decorating services. It opened on Aug. 11 and has since been busy with clients.
“A lot of thought and design went into this [building],” said Murphy.
Murphy and Schmidt bought the building in October of 2020 and gutted it completely before doing major renovations. “Greg Scott was the architect that I worked with,” Murphy said, who added that he is currently renovating the back of the store into his living space.
Featured products include pottery lamps made in Vermont and bags made from plastic bottles, as well as personalized home decor. “It’s beautiful stuff. Nobody has it in Northeast [Harbor]. I was careful how I shopped, and it wasn’t easy during COVID-19 to even do this, but we did it. It’s more of a masculine approach to a home accessories kind of place,” said Murphy.
Murphy went to school for art in Boston and followed in his artist father’s footsteps. While in art school, he honed his oil painting skills.
“In theory, a lot of these walls will be covered in my work next year,” Murphy said, pointing to spaces in the shop. “I will be doing a lot of painting this winter to replace the paintings I sold earlier this year before I opened.”
Artworks done by Murphy and close friends are currently displayed for sale around the store. To Murphy, there’s a comfort in knowing the artist to talk about their work.
Murphy is also offering pillows made with fabric that folks can look at in the shop.
“I have an upholsterer off the island that I think the world of and work well with,” he said.
Murphy is also an interior decorator. “I also do a ton of design. I love furniture design. I used to work at the Romantic Room [home furnishings store in Northeast Harbor] and learned a lot there from (owner) Jennifer Richardson,” he said.
The summer community has flocked to Murphy’s store this season. Rather than appealing to people seeking cottage-style decor offered at neighboring stores, Murphy aims to attract a younger demographic. “My store offers styles that are a little nautical, Scandinavian and simple,” he said.
Murphy and Schmidt are collaborating on another project with Scott to build two townhouse vacation rentals that include three-story elevators. Those are set to be done in spring of 2022.
“We are calling it Timmy Town and it will feature furnishings from Tim Murphy studios,” said Murphy.
While he is still working on a website, Murphy’s Instagram account, timmurphystudios, is currently displaying his decor. His business can be reached by phone at (207) 276-8047 or email to [email protected]
Ninah Gile, an MDI native, covers the town of Bar Harbor. She is glad to be back in Maine after earning a bachelor’s degree in San Diego from the University of California.
https://www.mdislander.com/living/artist-makes-moves-with-new-home-decor-store
