Promote Lake Erie Artists Gallery and Help Save the Environment at the Same Time

Lake Erie Artists Gallery Organic Grocery Bag by lakeerieartists
Make a canvas tote bag on www.zazzle.com

I am sitting in the gallery today on this beautiful Sunday, and I think that I have finally decided to close on Sundays to give myself and my family a day off. Between the four of us, we have been working 7 days a week at the gallery since we reopened in June. Sunday afternoons have been very quiet, so it is a good day to be closed. As we get closer to the holiday season, we will probably be open. Of course if you want to come in on a Sunday, you can just make an appointment.

The picture above is a new reusable organic grocery bag with our Lake Erie Artists Gallery logo and address and phone number on it. If you would like to help us promote our new store while helping to save the earth, purchase one or more of these reusable bags from our Zazzle store. There are also bags with art printed on them in the store.

For up-to-date information about classes and events, visit Lake Erie Artists Gallery at Shaker Square.

Introducing Artist Mindy Sand

I would like to introduce artist Mindy Sand who is now showing her beautiful hand painted glassware in our new location at Shaker Square.

Mindy's work is just beautiful, especially in natural light. She paints the glasses, dishes, and bowls with a special paint that is baked into the glass making it safe for food and able to be washed in the upper rack of your dishwasher. Pieces can be purchased one at a time or in sets. Most of the glasses are $20 each, perfect for a gift for friends, co-workers, or family. Each piece is signed by the artist.

Come to our gallery or call us at 216-752-9960 for more information.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Lake Erie Artists Gallery Official Hours

I have finally made some decisions about our hours at least through the end of the summer. We are going to be open on Wednesdays, so here are the official hours:
Mon, Thurs, Fri 11 am to 8 pm
Tues, Wed 11 am to 6 pm
Sat 8 am to 8:30 pm (although if we are busy I will stay open later)
Sun 12pm to 5 pm
If we have classes, we will stay open later until the class is over.

Today was the deciding factor. We are very busy today, and since the gallery is sort of starting over in this location, I do not want to miss even one potential customer.

We will be OPEN on Saturday July 4th from 8 am to 8:30 pm. Then we will be hopefully going to see some fireworks. The Shaker Square Farmers Market will also be open from 8 am to 12 noon as usual, and the Shaker Square Concert Series will also be on from 6 pm to 9 pm. Concerts are on the South lawn, and totally free. Just bring a blanket or chair.


Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Been Trying to Decide What Hours Make the Most Sense

Image is Dichotomy by Paula Atwell (watercolor)

I am about to post our newest newsletter via email announcing all of our classes for July and some for August, and I am trying to decide still what our hours are for the summer.

It seems like we will be open on Sundays for sure, because we have been getting traffic on Sunday, but might be closed during a weekday possibly Wednesday. I will go another week before I decide. Our busiest times seem to be Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, and the evenings that we are open. Of course, as the classes start to fill up we will be open more evenings. What a dilemna! The decisions to make being a store owner.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Summer Solstice Festival in Shaker Heights

Spent my evening with my daughter, Bryn, at the Shaker Arts Council Summer Solstice Festival next to the Shaker Heights Library on Lee Road in Shaker Heights. It was a really windy evening, but the music was great, and I got to meet a lot of new people. Bryn and I passed out flyers for art classes, and listened to the music all night.

There was a juggler, magician, and stiltwalker there too. Definitely something to do again next year.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Partnering with Dewey's

Blue Bird Abstract by Donald Swann (photograph)

Just talked to one of the owners at Dewey's coffee shop this morning, and she is allowing me to hang some of our art on one of their walls. This is totally exciting as Dewey's has just tons of customers. I just need to get signage up for each piece. Have you been to Dewey's yet? If not, you are missing one of the best coffee houses in the entire city!

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Meeting the Locals

This afternoon, I just met Dewey from Dewey's coffee shop which is just two doors away from my new store, and that is one of the best things about having the Shaker Square location. Each store and restaurant has a great personality. Okay, I am a bit biased, but I have to say that Dewey's is such a great place to hang out, and they have great food too. So far my favorite is the banana bread. It goes great with my morning coffee. And the coffee is excellent.

Today for lunch I am having Hungarian cucumber salad from my next door neighbor, Balaton. Just about time to go over and buy some from them. And Sunday was my mother's birthday, so I bought her a gift certificate from Sarava, the Brazilian restaurant around the Square from here.

If you haven't been to Shaker Square lately, you are really missing something.


Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Yay! Painting is Done

Our painting is finally done, and the entire store looks great. This picture is of our classroom featuring art by Brian Jones.

The store has been busy every day this week, and more and more people are discovering us. Today we were at the North Union Farmers Market at Shaker Square and ran out of postcards and class lists to give people. For an up-to-date list of classes, check this page. If you are an artist who wants to teach, we are looking for teachers right now.

Shaker Square is such a fun place to be. I love the Farmers Market and the free concerts on Saturdays. Tonight the group is Band of Thunder, an R&B and gospel band.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Had My First Class Last Night

Last night was the first class in our Shaker Square location. It was a PMC class, which I taught, and it went really well. We have several more classes scheduled, including a chain maille class on Tuesday evening. (Picture above)

If you are interested in taking a class, please follow this link to more information.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Starting to Feel Like Home

It finally feels like we are just about moved in. I have been spending this week hanging pictures, sorting through our inventory, meeting customers, and getting our classroom ready. The photo on this post is from the register in the middle of the store looking towards the front windows.

I have already found that Shaker Square is a great neighborhood to be in. People have been in just about every day welcoming us to the neighborhood. The store is almost completely painted. We just have to finish about one wall in the classroom and some woodwork in the front of the store. Should be done this Saturday.

Already had several sales this week, and lots of people interested in our class list. For an online version you can go to this page Lake Erie Artists Gallery at Shaker Square. Tonight a large group is coming in for a meeting here.

I have even climbed the extremely high ladder to replace some burnt out lights (and I am not fond of heights). Today I am going to start working on getting our signage up.

This has been a labor of love, and I am thrilled to be in a neighborhood that is welcoming us so much.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Baby Steps, Baby Steps

The week has been very full so far. Other than struggling with the phone company to get all my services turned on, everything else is going well. I have cleaned about 75% of the jewelry in the store, met a new artist, and am slowly unpacking, and putting things away.

Had quite a bit of traffic this week since Monday. People seem very excited to have us in the neighborhood. This weekend we should get most of the classroom painted and cleared out for public use, so that will make the entire store space usable. My first class is starting on Monday to introduce PMC. I am still looking for teachers to teach this summer, fall and winter, so contact me via email if you are interested.

My internet connection is intermittent, so I am trying to get a lot done before it goes down. We will be at the Shaker Square Farmers Market tomorrow and the store will be open during the market hours from 8 am to 12 noon, so stop by and say hello.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Today I am Polishing Jewelry

Today is Day 2 for the new gallery being open. Each hour things look a little more together. Last night my husband and I figured out why some of the lights weren't working, so now we have lights in the windows. I hung some more pictures yesterday, and today I am polishing all the silver jewelry a bit at a time. Since everything sat for a month, it is a bit tarnished, and I like it to be very shiny. Today is a short day, and we are closing in about 15 minutes.

I couldn't find my tumbler to polish the jewelry, so I just kept unpacking boxes until I could find it. Now all of the cool wood carvings by Ed Hrncir are out, and all of the kids kits have been found.

If you stop by in the next few weeks, we have some kids craft items 50% off because we are selling them out, and won't be carrying them at this new store. A few ceramic pieces, prints and art supplies are also on sale.

Tomorrow I get a new phone, new DSL line, and my computer will work much faster here. Right now I am using Shaker Square's WiFi, which is okay but not as reliable as having my own line.

By tomorrow I will be sending out an email blast with our new classes, so look for that. I will be here from 8 am to 8 pm tomorrow waiting for the phone guy, so I should get a lot more done.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

We are Open!

WE ARE OPEN! Today is the first day of our new store, and I have already had more customers here than I did on a typical day downtown in the last few months. I think that bodes well for this store. I don't even have any signage up yet, and people are walking in.

I will be hanging pictures today. I still have a lot of that to do. We are not even close to full of product although I still have some unpacking to do. Even so the store is bright and cheerful inside and has big lovely windows to advertise our products. I am very excited.

At this point we have three terrific new artists in the store. Today I will just talk about one of them--a group of artists/woodworkers--A Piece of Cleveland. For those of you unfamiliar with A Piece of Cleveland, they are a taking wood from deconstructed houses and other buildings, and reusing the wood to make great furniture and other wood accessories. So far in the store we have a glass topped wood writing or display table, cutting boards, two types of lamps, and nesting tables. Stop by to see them.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

It is Time to Reopen

Although we are not 100% ready, Lake Erie Artists Gallery is opening on schedule tomorrow am at 11 o'clock. For directions and hours, follow this link. This week we will continue to get the new gallery in tip top shape. The classroom still needs to be finished, but should be mostly complete by the next weekend. Classes are scheduled for June, and anyone can pick up class schedules starting this Tuesday.

The gallery is bright and cheerful, with three new artists so far. Leah Gilbert has brought in her beaded jewelry line, A Piece of Cleveland has brought in lamps and furniture made from recycled wood, and Mindy Sand has brought in beautiful painted glasses and bowls. We continue to have a wide variety of prints, jewelry, books, t-shirts, platters, and other great gift items and our stock will continue to grow over the next few months. We have yet to set up our vintage corner, and our green gift section is just started. Events will be listed on our website and in the window of our store starting on Tuesday.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Getting Things in Order

Spent most of yesterday putting things away in order to open on Monday. More of the same today. Chris from A Piece of Cleveland dropped of some items too. So the window displays are mostly up, but I still need to figure out why the lights in the windows are not working.

Things are shaping up nicely. Today artist Mindy Sand will bringing in her work. I am very excited to see what she has. On Wednesday, Leah Gilbert brought in her jewelry.

Baby steps, baby steps.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.