Artisan's Redesign- Prt 1. Lighting

It's officially Fall, the temperatures and leaves are dropping at an alarming rate. Michigan football is winning again(Finally 3-0!). With the holidays right around the corner, lots of people are taking the opportunity to redecorate their home. We too have been busy with refreshing and re-imagining our retail space. This is part of the overall postioning of our brand and we thought we would invite you all along for the ride.  

So, in this first week we will be talking about lighting. Lighting, as my brother taught me, is an important place to start with a space. Lighting changes how everything is perceived, from paint color to flooring. We have a unique set of needs because as an art gallery our product has to stand out, so the cleaner and whiter the light, the more the product stands out. On the flip side of this, is the fact that bright white light can wash things out and make a space feel rather cold. We will be addressing this second issue in the future with the help of designer and color specialist, Lesley David, who will be helping us pick out some new paint colors. 

New Pendant DishesFor the time being however, let's catch up to where Artisan's stands lighting wise right now. Past the entrance, down the center of the store, we have a series of eight cans with incandescent spotlights that line the center of the store, and three banks of halogen track lighting (8 lights per track) that light the art. These cans light the floor and guide you through the space, which has been recently redesigned into a winding path layout (I'll explain in a future post). Things get a little complicated once you throw in the fact that we have 10 foot ceilings that tend to make the space feel cavernous with no visual point of interest to keep you moving through the space.(store)

So the solution to the problems I've presented, was to switch our cans from a simple light source to something that adds structure and interest through shear volume and size.  We switched the cans to pendants that are 2 ft. high and 23 in. across, which brings the ceiling down from 10 feet to 8 feet and gives the space more of a visual grounding. Pendant dishes can hold 4 compact fluorescents, really kicking out much more light for the same cost. 

Most changes come at a cost, however. These pendants let off a wonderful warm glow but, as discussed above, this fundamentally changes the color in the store and our white walls now look faintly yellow. Well, shortly we will bring in Lesley and work on some paint colors. Enjoy the Fall days, I will be back more regularly now. Next week we will start to showcase some of our local artists. 

Colin Miller

Be Original, Buy Original

                                                                                          After

Before

Art Fair Time

Every year there is a magical time where the streets of Ann Arbor are packed with people(not students), all hovering over various pieces of amazing art. Now in its 50th year The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair continues to draw people from all over the State of Michigan and beyond.

I spent a good portion of my Thursday visiting a couple of artists whose work we carry, as well as discovering a lot of new art that we hope to fill the store with. Even though I have gone to the art fair for a number of years, it is always amazing to me the amount of artisans that reside in this state, and the creative community that builds up in certain cities. For example, the Potter's Guild in Ann Arbor, houses some amazing talent that I hope to represent for years to come. I am currently working with David Frankel and Karin Perkins, both fantastic potters! So on this beautiful day, thank you to all the artists that listened to my pitch and dreams for the future of the store, and I hope that everyone makes it through these four amazing but hectic days.

Finally here is a piece I bought for myself, made by Kris Stewart of the Potter's Guild. I am a mug snob at heart, and the handle and heft to this mug made it an easy buy for me. Thrown stoneware clay with a couple of pushed out eyes and a vivid blue inside makes any drink look great.

Colin Miller

Be Original, Buy Original

The First

Well here it is. The birth of something that has lived in my head and has grown into an unwielding toddler that I have given ALOT of time and love. This site will continue to be populated with info, much more can be found at the sister site heirloomrugs.com. The nitty gritty of my story will be found shortly in the bio, but mostly what needs to be known is this is about handmade art and the people that make it. I'll find it. Hopefully you will buy it! Its a circle that I am proud to be part of. Think Local.