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October 24-30, 2002
naked city
 Creative outlet: A sample of alumnae, student and faculty wares available at The Art Shop at Moore College of Art & Design. Photo By: Michael T. Regan |
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Philly's venerable school of art enters the world of retail.
It may be only late October, but for folks involved in retail, ’tis already the season. While your local department store chastises that the holidays are “just around the corner,” Philadelphians now have a new shop around the corner (well, if you live around the corner from 20th and Race) to help ease us into the most expensive time of the year.
But The Art Shop at Moore College of Art & Design is truly a unique addition to the local shopping scene. Resting somewhere between an upscale boutique, an art gallery and a museum gift shop, The Art Shop features work by Moore faculty, alums and current students. Since Moore, an all-women's school founded in 1848, has programs in everything from painting to sculpture to textiles and fashion design, the merchandise available at the art store runs the gamut of arty gifts. The 650-square-foot shop is located in an area that used to be the main entrance to the college, until Moore's $7.5 million renovation and expansion in 2000.
Cecily Kellogg ("like the cereal," she says affably) used to run the gallery shop at the Abington Art Center, and has recently joined Moore to run The Art Shop. The shop "gives students an opportunity to explore the professional world," as well as the academic one, Kellogg notes. Students (along with alums and faculty) have their work screened by an advisory committee made up of other students, alumnae, faculty and community members. Kellogg stresses that no students will be denied the right to submit their work, though she and the committee will advise on what they think can sell, and will also help students price it. The artists work on consignment, and Kellogg says they will receive "the larger percent" of profits from their work.
Moore's director of communications, Henna Remstein, points out that the college hopes the shop will be self-sustaining, and at this point they do not expect to make a profit anytime soon. Remstein says another inspiration for the shop was "the popularity of student shows, and how much people were inquiring about buying student work."
Currently Kellogg's selection is about 80 percent alumnae work, with 43 artists contributing and an estimated 20 or 30 more joining in before Friday's opening. Kellogg notes that this is still the beginning of the semester for students, and hopes that when things calm down for them, the ratio will even out.
The shop's selection is varied and impressive. Paintings and prints, framed and unframed, ceramic vases, silk scarves, handbags, furniture and decorative pieces galore crowd the space. The prices range from easily affordable (ornately decorated bookmarks for about 10 bucks) to more costly (at this point, the most expensive piece in the shop is a $2,200 painting). But a lot of pieces are reasonable compared to gallery prices. A print of a yellow flower goes for $35, and many paintings are available in the $125 range.
There are plenty of gems in the first batch of merchandise at The Art Shop. There's alum Kay Klotzbach's whimsical and colorful piece Lazy Susan and a Slim Jim, an actual Lazy Susan painted to portray a woman and said meaty snack, or a yellow turquoise and pearl necklace and bracelet set, mixing the larger yellow, lined stones with delicate pearls (the $45 bracelet had Remstein, who joked that the shop would save her when she needed last-minute birthday gifts, looking like she might be the shop's first customer). The shop also features work from well-known artists who happen to be Moore graduates, like Ana Uribe and Renee Foulks. Remstein notes that with so many original works, there should be constant turnover in the shop's displays, so there's the "element of surprise, and seeing something new when you stop by."
Kellogg boasts that customers are almost guaranteed a one-of-a-kind item. Turns out The Art Shop itself is one of a kind -- though many art schools have gift shops associated with their exhibition spaces, and Rhode Island School of Design has a store in downtown Providence that sells work by alums, according to Remstein The Art Shop is the first on-campus art school store selling work by both alums and current students.
Now the question is, will there be a market for The Art Shop? Kellogg has already seen passersby peeking in as the store is being set up, and she hopes that the next few months will let her know what works and what doesn't. And, like any good retailer, Kellogg is banking on the holiday spirit to help The Art Shop take off. "The holidays are a good time to take a snapshot of what the public wants."
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