Celebrating 10 Years

It's hard to believe we opened our doors 10 whole years ago.  Where has the time gone?  And I know for sure I personally haven't aged that much.  These rites of passage seem to lend themselves to some strolls down memory lane, so here we go.

Before opening our gallery, I was busy making jewelry and selling it at every opportunity possible - at craft fairs, farmer's markets, trade shows, through sales reps, and online.  It is rather exhausting work, but it definitely had its rewards.  But I was getting weary of lugging a tent around every weekend, only to be at the whim of the weather.  And we all know, we NEVER get rain here in Seattle....

But in the meantime, I had made many new artist friends.  Friends who made all kinds of beautiful things like pottery, glass, silk scarves, candles, and other kinds of jewelry.  I realized it was time to open up my own permanent art show!  Besides, I was fully devoted to helping others surround themselves with beauty and creativity.  What better way to do so?

Arizona artist Scott Johnson

And thus began the journey.  We started out representing only artists from Washington State.  But there are so many lovely things made in other states, that eventually I couldn't resist.  We now have works by over 100 artists.  About half are from Washington, and the other half come from other states, as well as two from Canada.

Manya in clothes from Bellingham

We have also expanded our wearable art selections, especially lately.  If you know me at all, you know I loves clothes.  I suppose it was inevitable that I'd find it irresistable to expand in that way.  We've had scarves, jackets, shawls and wraps for quite a few years now.  But this year, I got to add two new lines of my favorite type of clothing to wear - comfortable, attractive, drapey, and washable.  Just doesn't get any better than that!  One line from Bellingham enjoys eco-friendly fabrics.  Her T-shirts are a blend of organic cotton and a soy protein fiber - also known as the cashmere of the vegetable world.  They are the softest T-shirts in my closet.  And so pretty, too!  Her "posh pants" are organic cotton and hemp, and are very good looking and extremely comfortable.  I have to force myself to wear something else from time to time!

So here's to another 10 years!  Who knows how we'll grow and develop in that time frame.  It certainly is remarkable to think that when we opened in 2000, the economy was so rosy.  Then 9/11 happened, and the market for art shriveled up so much.  It sort of leveled out, but has never been as easy as we've heard other gallery-owners describe in the pre-9/11 years.  Now we're struggling through a recession, and doing our best to offer affordable, colorful, unique items in a very wide price range.  In fact, over the past 18 months we've increased the number of things under $40 quite a bit.  You should see our choices under $20!

Well, I'm sure I'll have more musings along these lines over the next few days, so stay tuned...

Manya

November 2010

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