There are so many thing that inspire me: a colorful sunset, a trip
to the museum, a great book, learning a new technique - but one of my biggest
inspirations comes from hearing other people's stories. Stories of chasing
after dreams, trying something new and pursuing a passion project are the things
that really get my heart racing! I've got some new content coming to the blog in
coming months, and something I am really excited about is a new series where I
will be sharing the stories of creative entrepreneurs chasing after their
dreams.
I am kicking this series off by sharing my friends Staci and
Sara's passion project, a gallery for makers in Astoria, Oregon called Maiden Astoria. These days
it's really easy to start an online business but opening a brick and mortar
business is an entirely different (often challenging) experience! When Sara
told me they were opening a gallery, I jumped at the chance to follow them
throughout the process. I thought it would be really interesting for my readers
to get an inside look at the process from start to finish. Today I am sharing
the beginning of their journey.
A little background:
Sara Knighton relocated to Astoria from Hawaii a couple of years
ago. When she is not working at local hot spot, Blue Scorcher Cafe, she is juggling a screen printing
business, weaving on her loom, selling her wares at the Astoria Sunday Market
and playing in the ocean. She is one of those people who thrives on making
things and loves learning, experimenting and getting lost in the creative process.
Staci Daniels in originally from Grants Pass Oregon and at
eighteen moved to LA to attend Otis College of Art and Design. She spent 20
years in Los Angeles working in fashion where she owned her own company. After
wanting a change in her life, Staci picked up and moved to Oregon and ended up
falling in love with Astoria where she now lives.
The two met in a weaving class at Astoria Fiber Arts Academy. They forged a friendship based in a mutual love for art and craft. With passion for handmade products, the two decided to open up a gallery for local makers - a unique venue to showcase the work of local artisans called, “Maiden Astoria.”
Tell us a little about the location
of Maiden Astoria:
SARA: Maiden Astoria is located in the
Young's Building. It is located on 14th street across from Street 14 Coffee and next to Gimre’s Shoes. It was built in the
early 1900's and is one of the few buildings to survive a massive fire in
1922. The building is a beautiful historical space with great bones and
tons of potential. For the last year, I have rented a studio space upstairs and when the retail space
below my studio opened up, Staci and I started dreaming big and thinking about
possibilities. After a lot of thought and brainstorming, we decided to take the
plunge and move forward with our idea to open a maker’s gallery.
What is the space like and what
renovations have you have made so far?
STACI: The space has lots of potential!
We have about 700 square feet to work with. The front portion of our space will
be the gallery and the back area will serve as our studios. The ability to have
studio space on site was a really big bonus for us.
The first thing we had to tackle was getting everything cleaned up
and then we got busy painting. Things were really dark and dated when we first
moved in so we decided to paint everything white to brighten and lighten things
up. The floors and walls all got a couple coats of white paint and one wall is
painted with a light grey chalkboard paint. Since we are on a budget, we have
to get really creative with how we make updates. Paint was one of the ways that
we have been able to cut costs but still make a really dynamic
transformation.
SARA: Other than painting, we have been spending a lot of time gathering furniture and display items. Again, we are on a budget so it has been really important for us to be creative about the things that we use. We are both big believers in recycling and using what we have, so we’ve been pulling furniture from our homes and shopping at thrift stores before buying something new. We are even using the old radiators from the space (they were going to be thrown out) and turning them into the base of our counter.
What is the next step in the process?
STACI: After we get the painting and updates finished, we’ll be moving in the display and then hanging art and filling the space with handmade products. Amidst all the cleaning, painting and renovating, we have both been working around the clock reaching out to local artists and crafters for work.
Can you share any lesson learned at
this stage?
STACI: Getting creative within our budget
has really helped us cut costs at this stage. While it would be easy to say yes
to all kinds of expensive updates, we’ve been really frugal with all the
decisions we have made.
SARA: Test paint before diving in! We
made the mistake of painting with a color that we thought was white but it was
actually cream. We painted the walls before realizing it was not the bright
white that we wanted and had to start all over.
STACI: Since we are working as a
team, we've found that it's really helpful to take on tasks that play to our
strong points. Sara is free-spirited in her approach while I tend to be more detail oriented. We've
found that things work better when we each take things that play to our strengths.
Thanks ladies for letting us peek into your project! I look
forward to watching this space change and develop.
11 comments:
Great post! Loved reading about their new venture!!! Looking forward to more posts from this series! :D
Che bella avventura!Complimenti alle ragazze e un grosso in bocca al lupo! Elisabetta
A beautiful adventure! Congratulations to the girls and a big good luck! Elisabetta
Thanks for sharing! The pictures are beautiful! I want to go to Oregon!!!
Would love to see the place on opening night!
Best of LUCK ladies!! This is so exciting!
~Connie in VA
I think this will be a great series. Love inspirational stories.
What a great idea. I look forward to following this series. Thanks so much Alisa. Good Luck Sara and Staci.
Me too!!! :))
Will for sure look for this gallery next time we visit Astoria - a favorite stop of ours! We spent a couple of nights at the Hotel Elliot a couple years ago, while my husband worked on signs at the OSU Seafood research building, and so enjoyed walking all over Astoria in the evenings together!
So awesome! Love it!
Check out my latest OUTFIT POST on my fashion blog and feel free to enter my latest Printic giveaway!
XoXo Venoma
Venoma Fashion Freak
Really loved reading this! I love the idea of following around a new business and getting a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. Can't wait to see more!
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