For years, Carol Raymond crafted sun catchers, small panels, and jewelry from stained glass, earning pin money at craft fairs. Now her colorful creations catch the eye of potential customers walking the streets of New Castle’s historic district, thanks to the display space she has in an artists’ co-op called A Menagerie of Artisans at Penn’s Place.
Shoppers who come inside the former bed-and-breakfast inn will find an eclectic mix of artists’ work, including powerful equine paintings, opulent hand-made Santas, thought-provoking photography and fanciful purses fashioned from vintage cigar boxes. If customers want refreshment, they can stop by the in-house coffee shop.
“This has taken me from a hobby to a business,” says Raymond of New Castle. “Being part of a larger group gives my work far greater visibility.”
Esther Lovlie, who owns Penn’s Place with her husband Matthew, calls it “an artisan’s business incubator.”
“The consumer gets a one-of-the-kind product and the artisan gets a broader marketplace,” she says. “Having a store validates them.”
Throughout the state, commercial and creative collaborations among artists through co-ops and other ventures are burgeoning. At Bellefonte Arts, more than 50 artists showcase hand-crafted works, ranging from fabric bowls to raku pottery. At Angelucci Studios & Artists' Gallery in Milford, more than 30 artists immerse themselves in woodworking, stained glass, painting and other pursuits.
Sharing the work
At A Menagerie of Artisans, each artist pays monthly rent and is expected to work the equivalent of one day a week minding the collective store. The owners provide utilities, trash removal, Wi-Fi, and such amenities as a four-color printer. The Penn’s Place website includes blurbs about each artist, with a link to the artist’s website. The venue also provides space for a massage therapist, a tarot card reader, an archivist, an artisan who restores steamer trunks and a community room that is available for meetings and social events.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="167" caption="A Menagerie of Artisans at Penn’s Place in Olde New Castle (click to view slideshow)"]
Lovlie says the enterprise fulfills both her passion for art and for community preservation. She is trained as an opera singer and is president of the Historic New Castle Alliance, modeled after the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street program.
Formerly the William Penn Guest House, the circa 1682 colonial-style structure on Delaware Street had been for sale for three years when the Lovelies came up with the idea of creating a gathering place for artists and the community. Her parents, Jean and Ron Norvell, helped the couple buy the property.
Currently, Penn’s Place is open Thursday through Sunday. The group also has been experimenting with opening on Tuesdays. The response from consumers has been positive and Lovlie says the goal is to be open more days a week as the roster of artisans grows.
Donna Teleis, a painter, says Penn’s Place gives her far greater visibility, which translates into access to paying customers.
“Even though I have a studio and gallery at home, it’s easier for people to find me here,” says Teleis, who lives in suburban Wilmington.
Artists' collective energy brightens outlook for business
Owner Esther Lovlie and artisans discuss A Menagerie of Artisans at Penn’s Place in Old New Castle.
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Like many of the artists, she has at least one job in the outside world. Teleis is an art therapist and trains horses. She can squeeze time out of her schedule to put in one day a week at Penn’s Place but would be hard pressed to do more.
“Sharing that responsibility with other artists is ideal for everyone,” she says. “No one person has to be here all day, every day.”
Because the artisans are part of a community, it’s essential to establish a compatible mix of skills and personalities.
“We don’t bring in anybody unless they meet with all the other artisans,” Lovlie says. “This is a very nice group of people.”
Continuing a Delaware tradition
Delaware has a rich history of attracting artists. Arden, established in 1900 by sculptor Frank Stephens and architect William Price, has long been a magnet for artists and musicians looking for a bridge between the creative right side of the brain and the analytical left side.
More than a century later, the new ventures are following much the same model, offering artists space where they can earn a living and enjoy the freedom to pursue their artistic inspiration.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Bellefonte Arts in the Town of Bellefonte (click to view slideshow)"]
At Bellefonte Arts, director Valerie White manages marketing and sales for the artists, whose talents include photography, watercolor painting and soap making. The venue also hosts a First Friday art loop and the Bellefonte Arts Festival, held the third Saturday in May
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“The ship needs a captain, so I’m here to steer the ship,” White says. “That allows the artists to focus on making art, what they are passionate about and what they do best.”
Budding artists can take classes at Bellefonte. There is a course on writing memoirs. White hosts poetry readings at the Bellefonte Café, located across the street.
Before the gallery opened in October, most of the artists worked and sold out of their homes or at art fairs and festivals. Bellefonte attracts a broad range of art lovers, generating group energy.
“The eclectic mix attracts more people,” White says. “We have robots made out of kitchen utensils. We have beautiful scarves. We have chain mail jewelry and metal bells made out of old oxygen canisters.”
Milford, an "Art Town"
Inspired by the Torpedo Factory, a vibrant arts center launched in 1974 in Alexandria, Va., woodworker Scott Angelucci first floated the idea of an artists’ community in Milford in 1990. But the notion didn’t gain enough traction to move forward.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Angelucci Studios & Artists Gallery (click to view slideshow)"]
“It was a great concept—but way ahead of the curve,” he recalls.
Angelucci operated a gallery in Lewes for several years. But it was difficult adjusting to the seasonal swings of a beach community.
“June through September, we would have great sales,” he recalls. “Then it would fall off sharply.”
In 2005, he moved his shop to a two-car garage in his hometown of Milford, the city straddling Kent and Sussex counties on the Mispillion River. His wife Gail set up a stained glass studio.
Angelucci was active in Downtown Milford, Inc., becoming the group’s president. He now serves on the board. Through the group, he received training from the Delaware Office of Economic Development on strategies for revitalizing downtowns, part of eight Main Street programs in Delaware.
Artists' collective energy brightens outlook for business
Owner Scott Angelucci discusses Angelucci's Studios & Artists' Gallery in Milford.
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Milford was selected for a project that would develop a brand, or marketing theme, to promote the community. The result: Milford bills itself as “River Town, Art Town, Home Town.”
With the arts now part of the town’s identity, Angelucci realized it was time to revisit his idea of creating a cooperative venue for artists, capitalizing on Milford’s easy access to Route 1. He persuaded the town to allow him to renovate a hardware store slated for demolition.
The site provided space for Angelucci’s shop, his wife’s stained glass studio and a studio for photographer Marc Clery.
Last December, the venture expanded into the building next door. The first floor is home to the Mispillion Art League and a gallery, where artists can show their work and take classes. The second floor, known as The Studios Upstairs, includes 10 studios which range in size from 10-by-12 feet to 20-by-15 feet.
The artists seek both the solitude of an individual studio and the camaraderie of being part of a creative colony.
They include full-time, professional painters and photographers, as well as those for whom art is an avid avocation. One space is rented by a surgeon who paints watercolors and his wife, who enjoys making tapestries. Joan Frense-Mulholland, known as the Pearl Lady, crafts high-end jewelry.
“Her studio has a Saks Fifth Avenue feel,” Angelucci says.
Across the board, art is enhancing Milford both culturally and commercially, he says.
“Art now offers a destination,” he says. “People come, knowing there will be a variety of art for them to see and enjoy.”
