To Move or Not To Move

Moving a craft gallery is not fun.

For me, the most stressful part came before the big move. Was I making the right decision in moving? Is moving really going to increase my business? Where should I move to? It had become very clear to me that it was time to move. My original location, while beautiful, was just not attracting customers. It is an area of town that people seem to have forgotten about and just are not coming to shop anymore. Everyone seems to be struggling. My lease was coming up, so I took that as a sign that it was time to go.

So, now that I've made the decision to move, where to go? I spent several months just hanging out in different locations. Hanging out and watching. At all different times of day. The questions I asked myself... Are their people here? Are they coming just to the restaurants & leaving, or are they walking around? Those people walking around, are they actually shopping? Do they have bags in their hands?

I finally narrowed down the area of town I wanted to be in. Fifth Avenue South. From there I narrowed the 6 block area down to about 3 blocks that I really thought were optimal. Then came the fun of looking at available locations, comparing prices, figuring out what kind of build out the spaces would require. It was the end of our busy season, when the business drys up, and there are always stores closing up then, so I had a few good options.

Once I finally picked the location I wanted, then came the bargaining. Here I have to say, I hate bargaining. I'm pretty good at it, but I really hate doing it. I'm actually pretty proud of the deal I got. I emailed the final agreement to my old boss (who's really smart in business matters) to review before I signed anything. After he read it, he called to make sure he was reading it correctly. This whole bargaining process took several weeks. I often didn't know from one day to the next if it was going to happen. At several points I was so stressed, I wouldn't have been surprised if I ended up with an ulcer. But I didn't and now the new location is mine. Here's a few "before pictures".

Now comes the fun of packing & moving...but that's another post.

Living With Studio Furniture

The Collection of Robert & Carolyn Springborn
Naples Museum of Art through Sunday, June 28


For lovers of studio furniture, this exhibit, featuring cabinets, tables, chairs, lamps and more, should not be missed. Too often the Naples art community only focuses on traditional art. Paintings in traditional styles and fine antiques are the norm. Anything a little different or unusual is looked upon as "odd" and "not really art". Unless you have a name like Chihuly, fine crafts get little respect here. The Naples Museum of Art is breaking through some of those boundaries with this exhibit.


Robert & Carolyn Springborn's collection, one of the most eclectic collections of studio furniture in the country, contains pieces that are both beautiful & quirky. One of my favorite pieces, the chair pictured here by artist John Cederquist, seems to be saying, "Yes, this is a chair, and yes, it is art. See the paintbrush?" That may not be the artist intended point, but after years of explaining that studio furniture is art to people, that's how I relate to it.


If you love handcrafted things, if you love beauty with a sense of humor, if you love the unconventional, if you just want to see some great art, check out this exhibit before it is gone.

Naples Museum of Art

What is contemporary fine craft?

That is a question I frequently get asked, and it's a hard one to answer. When I say that I have a contemporary craft gallery people mostly ignore the word gallery and assume I have a store that sells scrap booking and knitting supplies. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against scrap bookers and knitters (some of them are my best friends), but it's not what I do. I've searched the internet for a definition of contemporary crafts. Most of what I found was extremely limited or so esoteric as to not make any sense. Now, I'm not promising to make any sense, but I'll do my best.

The things I look for in contemporary crafts and craft artists are:
1.Utility---Not everything that is contemporary crafts is functional, but most can trace its roots back to something that was (or still is) a part of everyday life. A perfect example of this would be blown glass. The work of Dale Chihuly is in no way utilitarian. It was never meant to be anything other than beautiful and decorative. Yet, you can trace the roots of glassblowing back thousands of years in the making of drinking glasses, bowls, windows, and more.

2. Vision---The ability to see something in a common object that wasn't readily visible to others. When you see a piece of scrap wood, do you see fuel for a fireplace or do you see the figure of an angel with something to say? When you see an old muffler, do you see something to throw away or do you see the body of a dog?

3. Mark of the Hand---Contemporary craft should show that it was made by a person, with skill and care. Even when something is made with the most cutting edge machinery, it should still show something of the artist in it.

My description of contemporary craft is by no means definitive. Some people will disagree with it totally. Some will say it is too broad. Some will say it's to vague. I challenge them to come up with their own definition (it's not as easy as you think.) These are just the guidelines I use for choosing work for my gallery. After that, it just comes down to what I love. And even then I've been known to throw the rules out the window for something I truly love!

I'd love to hear you definition of Contemporary Fine Crafts.