It can be hard to be thankful when your timing is this unlucky. But Emily Caulfield is trying.
Caulfield signed the lease for her crafting business in Cambridge, called Still Life Studios, with hopes of the space becoming a gathering place for artists of all kinds in the neighborhood and beyond it. She had no idea what was around the corner.
Her business is just five houses down from Cambridge’s doomed Riverview condo building. A few weeks later, calamity struck, as newly discovered structural concerns led to the conclusion the building was an imminent safety risk, and its residents evacuated. Now it’s set to be demolished.
For safety, the city this summer shut down surrounding streets, including much of hers, leaving her storefront accessible but virtually wiping out foot and car traffic outside her new business. Some of her neighbors are being relocated by the city out of the neighborhood entirely, before demolition begins.
“This block is getting quieter and quieter,” Caulfield said.
Demolition is set to begin in December, a process the city aims to wrap up in the spring. Caulfield hopes for a return to normal at some point in the new year.
The challenge for the past several months has been to bring in customers by promoting the space online and via word of mouth.
Successes have come, she said, as the studio finds its place among artists and hobbyists who use it for crafting or co-working, or who drop in at workshops on collage, drawing, writing, fiber arts, and other handmade pursuits. She now has an intern, and supporters have chipped in where they can, including by making homemade fliers to put up around the area.
“I feel like we’re going to make it work,” she said. “I’m thankful for everyone who has come in the doors to try out what this space is.”
For Thanksgiving, Caulfield is taking some time away from the studio, spending the holiday at her parents’ house in Chelsea, along with her sisters and nephews. She brings the mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts.
As the holiday season approaches, she’s planning some workshops on both gift-making and “self-pampering,” to help manage the season’s stress, including an upcoming class on how to make silk pillowcases.
“I’m thankful to the local artists who inspire me, the people who work independently, who go a little against the grain and try to do things for the betterment of themselves and others,” she said. “I’ve met a lot of those types of people here.”
Spencer Buell can be reached at spencer.buell@globe.com. Follow him @SpencerBuell.
