About Us 

Mission Statement

 Dedicated to cultivating, supporting, and promoting Artist’s careers and together we strive to inspire others in our community to discover creative expressions of their own.

How do we strive to achieve this?

Our members actively participate in sales by rotating duties at the storefront and managing our mobile showroom at various events and engage with other members and the community through demonstrations of their creative practices and conducting workshops for small groups.

Benefits of becoming a member

• Artists can boost their sales by closer engagements with their audience and through these experiences develop a better sense of their target market.

•  Artists can retain a higher percentage of their sales compared to what they would typically receive from most galleries. Additionally, they have the chance to reduce the commission rates even further by dedicating time and effort to our cooperative.

• We collaborate to learn and teach each other the necessary tools to advance our careers as artists. 

• Promotion their artwork through our online presence and dynamic public outreach initiatives.

• By engaging with fellow members and taking advantage of our shared workspace and tools, members can more effectively explore and learn a variety of creative endeavors. 

My journey to this venture began at the onset of my artistic career in 2012, when I joined the Story Artist Co-Op. This artist-run storefront comprised about 15 members, each responsible for managing the store for two days each month. During one of my shifts, a conversation with a visitor led to sharing the tale of my first deer skulpture and how, during a particularly adventurous evening, one of its antlers almost pierced through my hand. I not only had the scar as evidence but also showed her the bloodstains that had marked the sculpture.

Through my storytelling and the rapport we built during our conversation, I made my largest sale ever. I always knew this event was significant, but it wasn't until years later that I fully grasped the lessons it had offered. There's a unique value in allowing your audience to meet the creator behind the artwork, a facet often overlooked in many sales avenues available to artists. Our cooperative strives to forge connections between artists and their audience through both face-to-face interactions and online promotion. Another aspect I've always valued from my experiences with the Story Artist Co-op is how it provided a fantastic opportunity early in my career, bolstering my confidence in selling work in galleries and directly to buyers. It also offered a more accessible path for artists who don't adhere to the conventional traditions of their art form or the cultural influences of our region.

 The facility is amazing, and I've met some wonderful people there. It truly saddens me to see how, over the years, access to the studio space has become increasingly limited and resources have dwindled, all while costs have risen annually. Over the past 15 years, I've collected a vast array of tools and materials for various art forms, and my goal is to create a space where these resources are accessible to other artists for good use. I believe that, in time, we can establish an environment akin to that of a college—a place where individuals with shared goals and interest can collaborate to inspire and enhance each other's creative talents and discover ways to make these skills financially viable in our lives.

Ultimately, this co-op is my way of contributing back to both the arts and to the community, and it is my sincere hope that it will encourage others to pursue creative endeavors that illuminate the expressions of their souls.

Projects currently in development at our facility