News from Earth and Fire -- April 28, 2006
Earth and Fire opening makes the National News!
Last weekend it was the Town of Leesburg making a fuss over the opening of Earth and Fire in Leesburg.
Mark Carlson from Sign*A*Rama Leesburg hangs Earth and Fire's temporary sign
The weather last weekend for the 16th Annual Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival was rainy and overcast most of the time, and that kept the crowds down, and that was unfortunate for some of the venders who had put a great deal of time and effort into creating little mini-landscapes to showcase their talents.
This morning, believe it or not, it was Katie and Matt on the Today Show welcoming Earth and Fire to Leesburg!
Well, kinda.....
I really apologize for the forced viewing of the ad preview. I find that about as distasteful as anything, but alas, I sure couldn't figure out how to avoid viewing it.
Now, once you get past the annoyance of the ad, and the introduction from Matt Lauer, if you look very closely... just above Kevin Corke's left shoulder (right shoulder as you're looking at him), you'll see a red two-story building with yellow trim, and you'll just be able to make out the presence of the sign that you see Mark hanging, above.
That's Earth and Fire's new location! You just can't hope for much better exposure than that, can you?
Moving on..... it's time for the next exciting installment of....
What's so great about Leesburg?
This week I walked up the street to The Potomac Gallery.
The Potomac Gallery, 26 South King Street, Leesburg
I've been popping in down there quite a bit since I moved to town, and they have been gracious enough to accept packages for me when I haven't been around, so I thought I already knew quite a bit about them. But just like when I spent more time talking to Richard at the Georgetown Cafe, I learned much more when I actually went down and asked them a few questions.
Wayne Miller opened The Potomac Gallery 1989, right across the street from Earth and Fire, at 17 South King (what is now Rouge). In 1992, it was purchased by Gloria Fust, her husband Jack, and their two daughters, Julie Doiron and Linda Callagy. They have one employee, LaVonne Donahue. It moved across the street to its current location at 26 South King Street in July of 2002.
The gallery is an eclectic mix of original art and reproductions, and contemporary paintings.
A sample of the art at The Potomac Gallery
Every time I go down there, I spend some time with these guys:
My little buddies, the animals, by Gavinder
I'm not sure what it is about the animals, but I think they are totally charming.
The Potomac Gallery is also a framing business. In answer to my question, "What makes you the best framers in Leesburg?", Julie quickly answered, "We listen to our customers, and we don't overframe the art."
The framing department at The Potomac Gallery
Although Linda got her degree in early childhood education, she is now a certified picture framer, and a member of the Professional Picture Framing Association. The family joke is that she went to framing school and learned how to cut and paste on a professional level.
Julie is the director of marketing and communications. When I asked how the the Leesburg First Fridays had gotten started, I learned that they were the brainchild of Julie herself! It seems they had a show at the gallery in 1998 and Julie went to a lot of trouble to publicize it, sending out 500 postcards, getting notes about the show published in the local papers, etc, but when the day of the show came, a paltry 25 people attended the show.
She was discouraged, to say the least. A few days later, she related her frustration to Katie Kidder at Photoworks, and Katie mentioned the First Friday Gallery walks in DuPont Circle. Julie figured it was worth a try in Leesburg. Together, they contacted the other merchants in downtown Leesburg and discussed the idea. Despite early discouragement from an assistant town manager who told them the idea would "never work", they persevered, and eventually managed to get commitments from the first group of merchants to participate in the First Fridays for at least two years. Using financial contributions from each of the merchants, as well as grants they were able to obtain from various programs the Town of Leesburg had (the pessimistic assistant town manager had moved on, replaced by a more forward-thinking one!), the first Gallery Walk was held in September of 1998. And they've been held every month (except Januarys) ever since.
After the walks were up and running, they were turned over to the Loudoun Arts Council to manage. There are now 26 participating merchants.
Make that 27... with the addition of Earth and Fire for the May event.
(left to right) LaVonne, Gloria, Linda and Julie
New this week...
I drove down to the Smithsonian Craft Show in D.C.last Sunday afternoon and picked up some new work from Sam Taylor, Sequoia Miller, D. Hayne Bayless, and Diana Thomas. The nice thing about buying directly from them at the end of a retail show is that I can pick out the actual pots I want for the gallery, and I don't have the shipping expense. It's also a good thing for the potters, because they have less they have to pack up and take home. The bad thing about buying directly from them at the end of a retail show is that I go near the end of the show (to give them the most opportunity to sell at retail), and so the selection is sometimes quite limited. There was so little left in Sequoia's booth that I told him I thought he could probably take the rest of the pots from the show home in his carry-on bag! I'm glad he had such a successful show, but I was sorry I wasn't able to score any more of his little hut jars.
I also received new pots from Barb Campbell this week.
That's going to do it for now. Earth and Fire is now open regular hours, Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am until 6 pm.
I hope to see you next Friday, May 5, for Leesburg's First Friday (6-9 pm) -- if not before!
Have a good week.
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