by China Star, 4/21/10
Olympia is filled with artists. You may be one. If not, chances are someone you know is driven to create a tangible expression of sheer beauty, political ideals, pain, or whimsy.
Art is not about money, and one could argue that business is not really about money either. Both, in many ways, are about connections.
The mission and success of many local businesses are entwined in the connections between art and business. Consider Matter Gallery, “the only contemporary art gallery exclusively featuring fine art made from recycled and found materials,”owned by Jo Gallaugher. Amongst the ninety-three Washington and Oregon artists represented, twenty-two are Olympiana, making Matter a coup de foudre for supporting local.
The irony is that half of Matter’s business comes from outside of Olympia. Upon first glance, this inflation of outside art patronage seems like a windfall of generated tourist income. In the six months since it’s opening, the store has already gathered close to 1000 fans on Facebook, many who then travel to Olympia to buy art. So why should this be a concern to businesses?
Customer demographics, like those of Matter’s, are a metaphor for the downtown Olympia business climate. Many Olympian residents just don’t spend a lot of time downtown – our hub for locally owned small business – and thus miss out on the great combinations of shops, restaurants, and cultural activities. We are used to our busy lives, and the conveniences set up for us, and often end up spending our money at establishments that pull 90% of every dollar away from our community. In contrast, spending money at locally owned businesses keeps a whopping 80% of every dollar right here in our town. The solution: Explore downtown, again, and this time, “Act like a tourist!”
What better opportunity to don your tourist cruise wear than at Arts Walk. Trailing on those coat tails is Olympia’s 1st ever Craft X Northwest.
This 30+ artisan street fair will close down the block of Washington between 4th and State and offer local street eats, a blacksmithing demonstration, and swing music by 7 on 7. This is just a small replica of Arts Walk as a whole, and will probably be absorbed as part of the larger event, but the true importance of Craft X NW is that it hopes to be the first of four additional summer block closures.
I was surprised to discover that the event was the brainchild of a local business owner, Mathias Eichler of Einmaleins. I delved deeper into his motives for creating the non-profit.
Mathias: “As a business owner, I cannot get a permit to close down the street for an artisan fair. Only non-profits can do that, so I started one.”
China: “Are you an artist?”
Mathias: “No!”
China: “Then why go through all of the work if it isn’t going to benefit you?”
The answer: connections. After helping to organize the downtown public picnic which closed the same block last summer, Mathias realized “This can only help my business! As people drive by, they aren’t inspired to stop when they see so many empty businesses, but a street fair draws interest and gets people to park and check out downtown.”
This type of “share in community” savvy on the part of downtown business owners is helping to change the face of downtown. Rather than looking to gentrification for economic stimulus, the real power is in inclusivity, connecting with our community, and sharing in our creative resources and our individualism. Walk-in businesses are learning from the social media boom and realizing the importance of bridging connections.
Embracing community, including art, rather than isolating from it, is the best recipe for building a financially successful business. This is what drives tourism. This is what makes Olympia a place you want to explore. ◙