Iowa
Artisans Gallery was founded in 1984 by twelve craft artists
seeking an outlet for their own work. Five of the original
owners continue to oversee the Gallery's operations.
They include
two potters, Christiane Knorr & Marilyn Davis; a woodworker,
Russell Karkowski; a basket maker, Earlene Giglierano;
and a jeweler, Don Rinner. About one third of the floor space
is devoted to D.J. Rinner Goldsmith, gold and gemstone jewelry
made by Don Rinner, run by the artist as a separate business.
For
the first six years, Iowa Artisans Gallery was located in
an old mortuary, a distinctive little house located
on the fringes of downtown in Iowa City (see photo.) In 1990,
the Gallery moved to 117 E. College Street, a historic storefront
with interior tin ceilings and exterior tiling on the Pedestrian
Mall in downtown Iowa City. Most recently, in the summer
of 2003, the Gallery has taken up residence in the historic
Paul-Helen Building at 207 E. Washington Street, still in
the heart of the Old Capitol Cultural District in downtown
Iowa City.
In the
early years, owners logged about 10,000 unpaid hours. None
had business degrees, but they embarked on researching similar
venues across the country. “Initially we wanted the gallery to function to sell our work, but instead, it magnified the problem in a way. It meant we had to take time away from our work to learn the retail business,” says woodworker owner Russell Karkowski. Fellow co-owner Christiane Knorr, a potter, commented on the “nightmare” of “endless
meetings.”
Maintaining a successful gallery takes persistence plus a mixture of creative vision and fiscal restraint. From the start, the gallery owners included personalities representing all of these character traits. Although many galleries in those days were organized as cooperatives, the owners of Iowa Artisans chose to incorporate and hire a manager and a knowledgeable staff.
From
the start, additional artists were represented in clay, fiber,
metal, glass, wood and selected two-dimensional media such as
painting and printmaking. Although contemporary crafts had exploded onto the national scene with prominent retail shows organized by the American Crafts Council and other venues, sales outlets in the state of Iowa numbered only a couple. This situation has changed dramatically across the country in the years since.The focus was and continues to be
on Iowa and Midwestern artists. These days, though, artists
from across the country may also be found in Gallery inventory,
especially in glass and metal. Artists eventually numbered close to 200, which continues to be the case today.
October 8, 2004 marked
the Gallery's twentieth anniversary, --an important milestone! The gallery
has a strong following of local and national customers and was named a “Top 100 Retailer of American Crafts" for
both 2004 and 2005 by Niche Magazine. It continues to be named Iowa City's
favorite art gallery by readers of the Iowa City Press Citizen.
The staff, many of whom
are artists, see presentation of the work plus information about artists
as enhancing the visitor’s experience. The Gallery maintains an ongoing
special exhibition schedule, plus opportunities for layaway, in-home approval,
and unique giftwrap.
But most of all, it is the connection the gallery staff is able to make between artists and customers and vice versa, that allows the gallery to flourish. For that we thank everyone who visits, calls and emails the store.
