Next Big Thing: Charmingwall Has The Coolest $20 Prints Ever - Stylehive

Do you have a problem wall in your house just aching for the right piece of art, but very little money to spend to spruce it up? Then are you lucky you clicked on Hivedaily today. I pass the cutest gallery on my walk to work every day called Charmingwall. A few weeks ago I finally went in, and got to talking to curator Katie McClenahan. It turns out every single print is only $20 (!), and she turned me onto their amazing website charmingwall.com, which continues the illustrator-y vibe of the artists the gallery represents. I talked to Katie about how the gallery got started (it's not even a year old), and what she looks for in an artist.

Stylehive: When did you start Charmingwall?
Katie: The idea for Charmingwall came about in July of last year. Patrick and Julie (who own Charmingwall) came to me with the idea of the gallery, and I immediately latched on. They recruited me to carry out their vision and bring the gallery into reality. We opened at the end of last year.

Stylehive: Wait a sec - who are Patrick and Julie, and where did you meet?
Katie: Patrick and Julie Lockley. Patrick is my uncle and Julie is his wife/ my aunt! So technically Patrick and I met when I was born. I grew up admiring his keen business abilities and when they approached me about opening this gallery with them, I didn't hesitate to jump on board. My background is in theater arts and design, so this is right up my alley.

Stylehive: Where did they get the idea for the gallery?
Katie: Patrick and Julie were making prints for various artists at their boutique printing company, and one day an artist was complaining about the difficulties of making time to deal with the fulfillment of print orders while also having enough time to keep creating art. That was the first spark for the idea. They realized that by using their printing experience and abilities to work with a select group of artists, they could make it easy for artists to have prints available without the hassle of doing all the tedious production and management of the orders. After researching other companies selling art prints, they realized that they wanted to curate the selection so that Charmingwall could offer a high quality, cohesive style. And by doing our own printing and not limiting the number of prints, we're able to keep the art very affordable. It's the best of both worlds!

Stylehive: Where do you find your artists?
Katie: Our artists come from all over! Some we knew personally, a few we met selling their own original art, and many we found online. We are very selective in adding new artists. We're much more interested in quality than quantity.

Stylehive: What links the artists? The works definitely have a cohesiveness to them.
Katie: We're definitely looking for a certain illustrated style, and since the owners and I need to all give a thumbs up before we add any new piece of art, it keeps everything cohesive.

Stylehive: What do you like working with most, the gallery or the online store?
Katie: I love coming into the gallery every day and making it look and smell pretty. I also love playing on our website and thinking of ways to improve upon the concept and make it as user friendly as possible. I get to do both at the same time so it's never occurred to me that they are separate! Lucky me!

Stylehive: Do you think the future of galleries is online?
Katie: I think there is a ton of room online to discover artists and art in general. Just because you are viewing it on a computer screen, that doesn't devalue the art. I let out audible sighs of joy almost every single day when I see art online that strikes that certain string in my heart. On the other hand, there is something very different about standing in a room full of beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces of artwork where you can see the brush strokes on the canvas or wood. They are two very different experiences. This is one reason that in addition to our prints, we also have original art available for purchase at the gallery.

Follow Katie in Stylehive.
Visit Charmingwall.com.
Read Katie's Charmingwall blog.