Artists will finally have a place to sell their wares in Scotts Valley.
After a surprisingly successful holiday shopping season, organizer Dawn Teall has signed a lease with the owners of Kings Village Shopping Center to open a year-round haven for local artists.
The holiday shop will close for the next several months and open permanently in the spring.
A permanent art center was a far cry from Teall’s goal when she opened the Scotts Valley Holiday Boutique as a fundraiser and a place for local artists to show their wares before Christmas.
“We thought it would be great to have a place where artists can sell for the holidays,” Teall said.
The boutique opened Thanksgiving weekend next to Erik’s Deli in Scotts Valley as a holiday destination where artists could sell their wares, with 15 percent of proceeds donated to the Scotts Valley Educational Foundation and Second Harvest Food Bank.
“It’s been way beyond our expectations,” Teall said.
Word quickly spread about the quality and selection of goods made by local artists and craftsmen, and shoppers began to buy handmade birdhouses, textiles, pottery, jewelry, paintings, photography and more.
On Monday, Dec. 20, Teall presented checks for $2,000 to both Second Harvest and the educational foundation after a successful holiday run.
Teall and her mother, Pat Nielson, have experience organizing events and got the word out during the fall about the boutique.
To find artists, Teall sent e-mails to the hundreds of people who take part in the annual Open Studios art tour in the county.
“I just got a huge response from that,” Teall said. “Word just got around — it was crazy. The big draw for most of them is that they don’t have to be there.”
The holiday boutique showcased the work of 43 artists, with a central cash register. The artists, all from within 25 miles of Scotts Valley, could come and go as they pleased during the boutique’s weekend hours.
“It’s been great,” said Marilyn Gwynn, a Santa Cruz-based jewelry maker. “I’ve already made a couple of custom pieces out of this. I think it’s going to be very positive for the community and also for the artists.”
So, Teall, a Scotts Valley transplant from Half Moon Bay about a year and a half ago decided to explore the idea of a year-round shop.
“Having an accessible and centrally located art center is just really exciting for us,” she said. “Artists don’t often have a place to send their regular clients.”
Besides selling artists’ wares, Teall hopes to offer classes and workshops for children, evening gallery openings with music and a small retail section to sell art supplies and unique gifts for children.
Because she has her own interior design business, Teall said she would not rely on the proceeds from the shop for her income, which means she can charge less for the space. Her business model will let her keep down costs for the artists and add a new element to Scotts Valley beyond the holiday season.
“I’m just so pleased it turned out the way it did,” Teall said. “Artists took funky spaces and they made the best of it.”
