I actually brought the up idea to do an artist pop up shop to Sasha about 3 months ago and she loved the idea. Traditionally BellJar does month long solo or group shows throughout the year so we thought this would be a nice change for the holiday season and it would challenge some of our favorite artists to do something a little different. I had the concept of doing a re-purposed cardboard installation as the decor for the shop, but didn't have a solid idea of what the aesthetic would be until Sasha & I started brainstorming names. Eventually Sasha came up with the Gold Rush theme and we played around with some other variations, but then came around to Gold Rush Marketplace. What attracted us to this theme was a) that I LOVE gold and b) the idea of using the old American West as an inspiration. Quickly we got to work brainstorming our favorite artists & crafters and found ourselves with a list of around 40 by the end of the week. From there we sent out a mass invite with a few mood boards to help get people's creative juices flowing. After the initial email went out we also extended an open call for submissions to Bell Jar friends & fans. We were also contacted shortly thereafter by Little Paper Planes and were more than happy to get them on board with their own curated section in the pop up shop! The lovely ladies from LPP invited 20 of their artists to make an object inspired by the theme "Rock Collection." Artists participating in the LPP collection include George Pfau, Evah Fan, Brendan Monroe, Alyson Fox, Brandi Strickland, Hillary Wiedemann, Leah Wolff and Cori Kindred.
Most of the artists involved, such as Kristine Reano, Lisa Congdon, Hannah Stouffer, Zenaida Sengo, Kevin Taylor and Micke Tong and long time friends of BellJar. Many of the others have been involved with the store in other ways or are friends of mine or Sasha's or, most likely, both of ours! We were also pleasantly surprised by the submissions from first time BellJar artists including Carol Sogard, Grace Sheahan, Jessica Taich and Lauren Lester. Sasha & I have been amazed with each delivery of goods and are so happy to present these awesome products to the public this Friday night, November 11th from 7-10pm as we officially open the doors to Gold Rush Marketplace! Many of the local artists will be on hand for the opening and we will feature Gold Rush theme drinks!
in the words of the lovely and talented-
Kylea Borges
