Sitting at the craft table in the upstairs loft of their store, Anthology, sisters Sachi and Laura Komai joke about the shape of Wisconsin. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we just lived in Colorado?” Laura says. “Nice and square.”

Wisconsin is not nice and square. Its jagged edges form a unique shape, instantly recognizable as what it is and what it stands for. The shape is scattered throughout Anthology, which sits near the top of State Street in Madison. It appears on the posters, prints and T-shirts covering the multicolored walls. It’s applied to the greeting cards, pint glasses, drink coasters and ornaments that fill the shelves. It’s everywhere. The state has shaped the store.

The table the sisters are at is dedicated to creating. Beside them lay a selection of blank prints, pulled from their Color Me Wisco coloring postcards book. Described as for and by those who love Wisconsin, the prints are available for customers to sit for a minute and put pen — or paintbrush, or colored pencil or crayon — to paper, and create.

As the daughters of a librarian mother and a scientist father, the Komai sisters were taught from a young age that creativity was something of value. They were raised attending art programs and classes at public institutions and libraries, and the pair learned to take advantage of the resources around them. The sisters-turned-business-partners maintain this creative resourcefulness in their current roles as the co-owners of Anthology.

Sachi and Laura were co-managing a gift shop in town when they realized they were searching for more in their careers. “I started to sort of feel like that creative piece was not really as integrated into my work life as I wanted it to be,” Laura says. “I felt that there was an opportunity to do it more.”

In search of creative freedom, the sisters left their managerial roles and decided to open their own store in 2008. They called it Anthology — a collection of works of art. Like a blank canvas, the Komais were the artists, eager to fill the space. This was a place where they could embrace creativity.

“I think both of us kind of felt, like, in terms of having a store, that it would be possible to pull in more of that creative side both for ourselves, and to inspire our customers and to work more with local and independent artists,” Laura says. “I think that kind of became a real key for the kind of store that we wanted to create [and] was just kind of having that creative opportunity.”

Anthology sells works by local and independent artists, including artwork by co-owners Sachi and Laura Komai.

The sisters stocked their store with art supplies and goods that spark creativity. They assigned a space with a long wooden table specifically for people to gather around and craft. They searched for work by local and independent artists to sell, providing them with a platform for discovery.

Among the work for sale are a number of more personal pieces. There’s a screenprint of the Madison flag, hand drawn by Sachi. The blue background is split diagonally by a strip of white, symbolizing the Isthmus slicing between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. A closer look reveals intricate drawings of iconic Madison features, placed carefully to correspond with their real location. There’s a Memorial Union Terrace chair, the Orpheum Theater sign that stands over State Street and a bonfire near Picnic Point.

There’s a white tea towel with Laura’s Wisconsin Tree of Life design printed in red. The ornate design mimics the shape of a tree. The roots form the base of the print, working their way up past a collection of Wisconsin wildlife. Fish, cattle and, of course, a badger appear among the branches before they merge into the state’s outline crowning tree.

There’s even clothing — for all ages. A cheddar yellow onesie featuring Sachi’s original Lil’ Cheese Curd design quickly became a bestseller. At first hand-stitched, the product was met with such high demand that it is now — like many other products — printed locally on Willy Street. According to Sachi, these Anthology exclusive products are how the store has managed to remain competitive with larger retail establishments.

“We have product, we sell things that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. … We both put a lot of energy into drawing and painting,” she says.

In another retail setting, Laura says, the owner or manager is responsible for ordering, placing and selling the product. At Anthology, there is an added layer of actually creating the product — something that Laura says propels her and her sister creatively.

While Sachi says it might be tempting to employ a manager to allow for more time dedicated strictly to creating product, the sisters find value in maintaining their presence on the sales floor. Seven days a week, the sisters are in the store, engaging with customers. The Komais attribute the evolution of their original business plan to noticing which products their customers buy.

“I look back at our business plan,” Sachi says, “and we were going to have Wisconsin local artists, but there was no mention of Wisconsin kind of imagery. Which is everywhere. Which is a huge part of us.”

Locating this marketplace need and filling it with a niche product is what has enabled Anthology to thrive. It is a popular business model, one that has emerged across the state of Wisconsin in recent years. Jennifer Broecker, marketing and communications manager at the Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin System, has observed the importance and success of small businesses in Wisconsin. Broecker says the number of people employed by small businesses alone is cause for attention.

Laura Komai hangs artwork for display in Anthology’s window.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy’s 2019 Small Business Profile for the state of Wisconsin, 99.4 percent of all businesses are categorized as small businesses, putting 1.3 million, or about half of Wisconsin employees, in jobs in these entities. Broecker attributes this to the state’s diverse population.

“We have some very urban areas; we also have a lot of rural counties,” Broecker says. “Workforce is a big challenge, no matter where you live, and it’s a big deal in Wisconsin. But small businesses are a part of what attracts and employs those people in the workforce.”

Broecker says those who get into small business do so for their passion, interest or expertise in a certain area. However, that doesn’t necessarily translate into knowing how to operate a business. Yet with proper training, she says, serving a need in the community can lead to success.

“You see the true innovative spirit of entrepreneurs in Wisconsin,” Broecker says. “They solve problems. That’s what a small business does — they solve problems for somebody by offering a product or service. What to me is amazing is how people can solve problems or offer services tied to something they care about.”

For the Komais, that something is the state of Wisconsin. Nestled between the state Capitol and the UW-Madison campus, a steady parade of tourists streams through Anthology’s door. The colorful window display filled with products — many of which reflect Wisconsin imagery — catches the eye of tourists as a potential souvenir shop. They are pulled inside and immediately intrigued by the immense array of unique products for sale. Filling the space is an overwhelming and enticing assortment of art — an anthology — each piece carefully selected or created by the Komais.

After browsing the products, the sisters frequently overhear customers exclaim, “Wow, they must really love this place.” To the Komais, the idea feels foreign. They grew up knowing and loving Wisconsin. They can’t imagine anything different.

“They seem to think that as a whole, people love Wisconsin more than they love whatever state they’re coming from,” Laura says. “But I think it’s been really instrumental at every level. All of the public institutions along the way that have just enabled us to thrive. … I just feel like that’s been something I feel really fortunate we had.”

The Komais recognize the prevalence and impact of public institutions in Wisconsin. They donate money to The Bubbler, an organization based at the Madison Public Library that acts as a platform to connect community artists.

“[The Bubbler is] a place where people bring new ideas every week. We’re always meeting new people,” Jesse Vieau, teen services librarian at Madison Public Library says. “It’s a platform for people to empower themselves by connecting with the community in ways that they might not otherwise have access to.”

The Bubbler accomplishes this by enlisting local artists in their Artists-in-Residence program. Sachi and Laura served as two of the earliest participants in 2014. Still building its foundation, The Bubbler invited the sisters’ creative expression throughout the library. They explored various media in activating new spaces, planting visual surprises throughout the building that over time became part of the library’s fabric, says Carlee Latimer, The Bubbler’s program assistant. Since then, the sisters have maintained a close relationship with the organization. Like Anthology, The Bubbler embraces an imaginative mindset. 

“For me, it’s just people being able to work with people,” Latimer says. “Being able to celebrate creativity and being open to 10,000 answers to the same question. Because people’s experiences and perspectives and brains all work differently, and when they intersect, that’s kind of where the magic happens.”

At both Anthology and The Bubbler, people may walk through the doors thinking, “Oh, well, I’m not creative.” Sachi and Laura disagree. They say creativity exists in everyone, and their ability to gently invite those individuals closed off to the idea can be rewarding.

In a time when so many people are just getting by, in part because of the political or economic climate, the Komai sisters say it all comes back to creativity.

“It’s all connected. … That’s taking up energy from us being creative,” Laura says. “So I do feel that it’s really relevant to our mission to say that we want more creativity in the world. And that has to be done. It can’t be accomplished just on the individual level. It has to be accomplished with institutional change.”