Michelle Axelson, owner of Womencrafts Provincetown, took news of her nomination for the Jamie Lee Curtis Award For Gusto, Enthusiasm and Individuality with a grain of salt.
She listens to Las Culturistas, the podcast that sponsored the award, and is a fan of the show’s quirky, comedic take on popular culture. The podcast hosts are Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang of “Saturday Night Live” fame.
“I’m a big comedy fan and podcast listener,” Axelson said in a Sept. 5 interview.
But when she saw the award name and the people nominated for the award, she thought the joke was on her.
Fellow nominees included singer-songwriter Benson Boone, the Lady Gaga-themed Gagachella 2025, actress Julia Fox, and the character Monstro Elisasue from the horror film “The Substance.”
Michelle Axelson, owner of Womencrafts Provincetown retail store, holds the Jamie Lee Curtis Award For Gusto, Enthusiasm and Individuality she received in August from the Las Culturistas podcast hosts. The photo was taken Sept. 17, 2025, in the store in Provincetown.
Not that the podcast hosts meant her or any of the nominees any harm.
Axelson liked Rogers and Yang, tagging them on social media. They followed her back, engaging with some of her daily postings, scheduled for 12:34 p.m. in front of her store.
The store has been lesbian-owned and operated since 1976. Inside are books written for and about women. There are T-shirts and posters, CDs and jewelry, pins and tea towels, baseball caps and scarfs.
On the website, Axelson said the shop has survived because “it is much more than a store; it is a physical and interpersonal space.”
Daily postings from Womencrafts
Womencrafts daily posting, dubbed moments of “queer joy,” are meant to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters. The wide-ranging celebrations have recognized librarians for their bravery, hospitals for providing gender affirming care, Lithuania’s recognition of same-sex marriage and Ukraine’s celebration of gay soldiers, according to the posts.
“Matt would pop up from time to time,” Axelson said, on the social media platform. “Once a young lesbian couple was on and Matt was watching. He was typing back and forth with me about queer joy.”
Yang and Rogers visited the shop in 2024 after Kamala Harris announced her candidacy for president. They came back in 2025 and brought the award with them. But not before Ana Gastayer of SNL fame accepted the award on Aug. 5 on behalf of Womencrafts. Jamie Lee Curtis presented the award during a broadcast of the show on Bravo.
The Jamie Lee Curtis Award For Gusto, Enthusiasm and Individuality sits inside Womencrafts Provincetown on Sept. 17, 2025. Store owner Michelle Axelson received the award in August from the podcast Las Culturistas.
Axelson called it fitting that Curtis, a vocal critic of the Trump administration, presented the award to Gastayer, who played an NPR radio host on SNL. At the end of the award ceremony, Gastayer said, “Save NPR,” a call to stop a congressional rescission package coupled with an executive order ending NPR funding.
Axelson has the award, and a banner proclaiming the win at the store. State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Provincetown, gave Axelson a commendation recognizing Womencrafts from the Massachusetts Senate.
“Everything about the show is a joke except them choosing to do this and spotlight Womencrafts,” Axelson said. “It’s a real act of kindness. The legacy of Womencrafts is important. They recognized that.”
Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues impacting the Cape’s residents and visitors. Contact her at [email protected] .
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Nearly 50-year-old Cape Cod feminist store wins award for ‘gusto’
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