by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
In a little stretch of commercial space off North Pearl Street in Springfield, a few bohemian artists are struggling to make their businesses viable. The adjoining buildings house an artist’s studio, a modern art gallery and, come May 28, an eclectic home accessories store.
Tonya Lee, a local artist and adjunct art professor at the University of North Florida, chose the space for its reasonable rent and the area’s potential growth. She only buys products for her store from companies whose owners have a background in fine arts.
“They [her suppliers] are trained as artists and now make goods for popular consumption,” said Lee.
Housewares like vases, accent pillows and bed linens are some of the items customers will be able to find in her store.
“You can tell the style came from an aesthetic out of the 1960s and 1970s. Then it was interpreted as fine art, now it is seen as crafts.”
Coming out of graduate school at the University of North Carolina, Lee noticed that the art community made a marked distinction between fine art and craft.
“I’m more interested in making paintings for domestic environments,” she said. “I don’t believe there’s a determination between fine art and craft in my work. In searching for inspiration, I found more references in pottery, pillows and wallpaper than looking at contemporary paintings. They’re equally as important, if done right.”
In studying the potential demand for stylish home decor in Jacksonville, Lee saw a need for funky, mid-priced commodities for residences, and the idea was born.
“There’s a void when trying to find home accessories in this town,” she said. “I was hard-pressed to find the style I was interested in. There’s a big gap between Target and San Marco.”
Wanting to offer the fairly reasonable price of a department store with the chic of boutique, Lee leased the 500 square-foot space. Her studio will occupy the remaining 500 square feet, but she will not use any of the space as a gallery to sell her work. She intends to set up a silk screen operation to produce wallpaper.
Prices range from the inexpensive to upper end. For example, her vases begin at $15 and range to $110. Pillows are $25 to $160, depending on the product line.
“They all have a certain aesthetic,” she said. “It’s not like the quality is less in the cheaper ones.
“These are products I’m willing to live with myself. Mid-20th Century is the modern trend right now but a lot of these items could be adapted to any environment.”
Part of her strategy in choosing Springfield was to key off the art gallery openings of her neighbor, Pedestrian Gallery, and tie her theme to other shops of similar motives that are planning to move in soon. Currently, Lee is painting the shop walls to get ready for a soft opening next month. The grand opening is slated for October.