Koenig Going! After 31 Years, Owners Retire

In 1982, Jim Baker was out of a job, and his wife, Shirley, was pregnant with her second child -- he needed an income and health insurance, so he bought the Koenig Art Emporium franchise at 899 Post Rd. in Darien.

That's turned into a three-decade career for the Bakers -- which ends on Dec. 15 when they shutter the store for good. The couple is retiring to their home in Fairfield, and a store location that sold art supplies for at least six decades under various owners and names will be empty.

[We interrupt this sentimental story with a public announcement of a crasser nature: Empty your bank accounts, starving artists! Search between your sofa cushions for spare change! They're selling off the merchandise at a 25 percent discount on Friday, 30 percent starting Saturday, Nov. 23, and 40 percent on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) until the doors close on Dec. 15. The store will be open this Sunday as well as the Sundays of Dec. 1 and 15 from noon to 6 p.m. Patch received no remuneration for this announcement. We now return you to our more high-toned story.]

Five and a half years after buying the place, Jim suffered two heart attacks in one day, and Shirley ran the business by herself for a while.

"It was my customers who saved the business," she said. "A customer  would ask, 'How do I do this?' and I had a panicked look on my face until someone said, 'Oh, you do this ...' and someone else said, 'You can also do this ...'

"I'd like to say this," Shirley said, "Thank you, Darien people, for your help, your encouragement and your support. The people of Darien kept us in business all these years. So I am sad. I'm terribly sad after all these years. I'm going to miss the people terribly."

One of the biggest changes in the art supply business has been the advent of computers, Shirley said. When they first started out, the Koenig company's biggest selling item was white railroad board paper for posters and the second was an extra large kneaded rubber eraser. Nowadays, more posters are created on computers.

The store has operated on the honor system for customers who didn't have enough cash on them or a check (the store doesn't accept credit cards), Shirley said. "If somebody didn't have a check or enough cash, we'd let them promise they'd mail it in," she said.

Did they?

"Most of the time, yes. Very few did not."

She'll miss the creativity involved in helping people figure out the right way to frame something, she said. "Each frame shop has the personality of the owners -- you can't help it," she said. "It gets interesting when you try to help the customer make a selection."

Shirley said one thing she won't miss is the commute from Fairfield on Interstate 95.

What did Jim like most about the place? "That it's here!" he quipped, then said, "That it's reasonably convenient to home."

Then Shirley nudged him and reminded him that a customer told them that Jim seemed to particularly love helping children with their projects. Jim agreed and told a reporter: "What she just said."

Koenig Art Emporium at 899 Post Rd. is just to the east of the railroad bridge overpass in downtown Darien. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday and, although it's usually been closed on Sunday, it will be open this Sundays, Nov. 24, Dec. 1 and Dec. 15. (It won't be open Dec. 8.)