Bungalow 608
Hand-woven striped throw, Machete clare earrings, Blue spot mug, and Batik bottle openers.
At Bungalow 608, just about everything from earrings to wall hangings comes with a Fair Trade, maker-made or mission-based back story. Owner Adrian Murphy, 35, feels that successful businesses give back. Among the do-gooder goods she’s assembled are silk throws made from women’s saris in Bangladesh, plump kilim cushions recycled from Turkish carpets and jacquard shawls woven in North India — the sales of which support girls’ education. “It adds so much to coming to work every day, to know that not only am I supporting myself, but supporting other people, too,” says Murphy. Prices range from under $20 for small craft pieces to around $200 for larger textiles, with most wares in the $80-$110 range.
Bungalow 608 is Murphy’s first run at entrepreneurship, but something she dreamed about for years. After graduating with a studio art degree from UW-Madison in 2005, Murphy explored careers in film production, art retailing, graphic design and advertising in Santa Fe and San Francisco before returning to Wisconsin. Most recently she worked as a freelance interior designer and developer of home goods product designs for fair trade artisans. Each experience added to the design sensibility she brings to Bungalow 608, which opened in October in the narrow storefront just east of the Capitol Square, next to the former American Exchange Bank building.
Bungalow 608 sells artisan home goods and gifts. Murphy also offers interior design services. “I want to add charm to a town I love,” she says. Her target customers, especially for design services, are millennials decorating their first apartment or home.
With the downtown’s growth, that’s a big customer base: Since 2010, almost 4,000 new residential units have been added. “If you’re renting one of these beautiful new apartments or buying a condo, you might need help furnishing your new place. I’m your girl,” Murphy says.
Sourcing products for a retail shop usually means attending the big gift shows in Atlanta and Chicago. But to find fair trade goods, shopkeepers like Murphy dig deeper. “The gift shows are great, but the small makers aren’t there,” she says. “I want to support them, so I try to find them on my own. I’ve done a lot of research over the years, finding things I like and tracking down where they came from.” Murphy loves supporting craftspeople around the world, and modern artisans in the U.S. as well.
The goods at Bungalow 608 aren’t specific to the rough-hewn, handmade “bungalow” look associated with the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However Murphy curates her product selection to create a sense of “cozy, historic charm,” as ready to accent a Craftsman-style cottage as warm up a sleek glass condo.
Bungalow 608
116 E. Washington Ave.; 608-285-9211
11 am-6 pm Wed.-Fri., 10 am-5 pm Sat., noon-3 pm Sun.
Editor's note: This story has been edited to correct one misspelling of Murphy's name.
