SCD: How did you start Susan’s Christmas Shop?

Susan Topp Weber: I started making handmade ornaments in 1969. I began wholesaling them and then showing them in juried shows. Some of them ended up in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. Then, my husband and I bought a Victorian house in Santa Fe, NM, and he suggested I open a store to make money to help pay for fixing up the house. In 1978, I began renting a corner
of an existing shop while looking for a store of my own. I was only there a few months. The day the location I wanted — this store — came on the market, I was scheduled to leave for Europe the next morning. I knew I wanted it, so I left my mother-in-law in charge of negotiating for me, and when I came back it was mine.

SCD: Tell us about the store.

Topp Weber: It has been profitable from day one. It’s in a 188-square-foot adobe room in Prince Plaza, a building that dates at least to the 18th century — it may be even older. It has a turquoise portal and a courtyard. Right across the courtyard is The Shed, a very popular restaurant. Its customers often wait more than an hour to get in. They shop in our store while they wait. We’re in downtown Santa Fe, a half-block away from the Palace of the Governors, the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States.

SCD: What Christmas categories do you carry?

Topp Weber: Glass ornaments do very well, and nativities are one of our specialties. We sponsored a sold-out convention of nativity collectors in Santa Fe in 2005. We have no room for large trees, and we have only a few Christmas stockings — not only because of space, but also because of dust. We have a colonial-style dirt roof, and the dirt tends to sift down through the boards. We’re constantly dusting. Chili lights are another good category for us.

SCD: Who are your main suppliers?

Topp Weber: We have a lot of pieces by local artists as well as artists from all over the world. We have pottery ornaments by Ben Herrera, a Cochiti Pueblo Indian; Mapoo of Isleta Pueblo; and Bernice Gauchupin of Jemez Pueblo. Other local artists include Sylvia Begaye and Bobby Garcia.
We also carry pieces from Bolivia, Ecuador, Italy and France. We have pieces by Wendt & Kuhn, a German company, and old-world glass from Inge-Glas of Germany. Landmark Creations makes replicas of New Mexico landmarks for us. We also carry Alexander International, Radko and Midwest.

SCD: How is your website doing?

Topp Weber: It started out well, and then it seemed to stall. I realized I had to do a newsletter. That helps. It keeps my name in front of people.

SCD: Does most of your business come from tourists or from locals?

Topp Weber: About half are tourists. They buy ornaments as souvenirs, and their Christmas tree becomes a scrapbook of their travels. We offer a glass ornament replica of The Shed, and we’ve sold 600 of them in three years. We also sell to locals, who are proud of their Southwestern heritage.
I have customers that have been coming in since I opened the store. It’s a small, intimate space, and everything we sell is high quality.

SCD: Tell us about your new book.

Topp Weber: It’s called “Christmas in Santa Fe.” It’s coming out in 2009 — in time for Santa Fe’s 400th Christmas celebration. //