Home decor business features local artists
By Joanne Fox Journal staff writer | Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2008
Visitors to Johnathan Blake Home Decor won't find just one style of furniture, fabrics and decorations on display in the Plymouth Block Building on Historic Fourth Street.
They'll have one of a kind items as well with Siouxland ties.
On display right now is the second group of local artists to showcase their wares. According to Johnathan Blake designer Marissa Bargmann, the business had long thought about incorporating local art by local artists as part of their offerings.
"All of us are interested in original art and we really wanted to make it more accessible to others," she explained.
Through a selection process, three artists were chosen to display their creations in December of last year, Bargmann said.
"We had a combination of artists who were recommended to us or some who just came in with their portfolio," she explained. "We then examined the portfolios and were thrilled with the fresh and new items we were seeing."
The business held an artist reception last December and introduced artists Ann McTaggart, Marcy O'Connor and Pauline Sensenig to about 50 customers and clients. Sensenig called it an "honor" to be asked.
"The idea of displaying art there appealed to me because it was a different venue and a different audience that would see my work," she explained. "This would be more open to the general public than a gallery."
Sensenig, who maintains an art studio in downtown Sioux City where her primary medium is oil, chose a handful of her newest works, some scenes of Sioux City and some smaller paintings for display, in hopes of showing a "representation" of her work.
"I received phone calls and a lot of comments who saw my work at Johnathan Blake," she said. "They thought it was nice to have another venue in Sioux City for artists to show their creations."
Although Sensenig is no stranger to the Siouxland art community -- she has taught art, printmaking and drawing at the Art Center, as well as teaching at Morningside College and more recently at Western Iowa Tech -- she said people still are not aware she's an artist.
"I've had a lot of people I've known over the years say, 'I didn't know you were a painter.'," she said with a chuckle. "We think we're out there, but we're really not."
Although the Art Center displayed an exhibition of her paintings in the summer of 2006, Sensenig felt strongly that allowing artists to show their creations at a firm like Johnathan Blake would also be beneficial.
"There really are only a handful of galleries and coffee shops that show local artists," she pointed out. "There needs to be a place that local artists can be shown off."
Currently the two featured artists are painter Jan Redmond and photographer Ron Johns. Also on display are the paintings of Mack Maschmeier, a senior graphic design/studio art major at Morningside College, who works as a delivery man for the business.
"Mack had been talking about showing his work and he had helped put up some of the pieces for the previous artist reception, so we thought it would be a great chance for him to show his paintings," Bargmann said.
For now, the presentations are limited to wall art, such as photographs and painting. That doesn't preclude that at some point, Johnathan Blake Home Decor will have accessories, such as pottery or ceramics, Bargmann said.
"We're open to suggestions right now," she noted. "We also started with two presentations a year and are expanding to three with the next one in the fall."
Owner Kristi Leigh opened her home design studio and store in downtown Sioux City in February 2004 at the prodding of a number of her clients visiting her Okoboji, Iowa, store. Johnathan Blake is also located in Sioux Falls.
At the time Leigh said could have expanded elsewhere, but examined the market and felt Sioux City was ripe for a different kind of design and furniture studio, one that does everything from the floor plan to the finished product. In addition, she offers a number of accessories such as lamps, artwork, frames, floral arrangements, clocks, vases and sculptures.
Leigh and a friend started the business, but had trouble finding a suitable name. In a moment of inspiration, they decided to combine the names of their sons -- Johnathan after the first name of her friend's son and Blake after her son's middle name.
Johnathan Blake Home Decor is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday. Artists interested in submitting portfolios may stop in at Johnathan Blake, 1002 Historic Fourth St. or call 224-3030.
They'll have one of a kind items as well with Siouxland ties.
On display right now is the second group of local artists to showcase their wares. According to Johnathan Blake designer Marissa Bargmann, the business had long thought about incorporating local art by local artists as part of their offerings.
"All of us are interested in original art and we really wanted to make it more accessible to others," she explained.
Through a selection process, three artists were chosen to display their creations in December of last year, Bargmann said.
"We had a combination of artists who were recommended to us or some who just came in with their portfolio," she explained. "We then examined the portfolios and were thrilled with the fresh and new items we were seeing."
The business held an artist reception last December and introduced artists Ann McTaggart, Marcy O'Connor and Pauline Sensenig to about 50 customers and clients. Sensenig called it an "honor" to be asked.
"The idea of displaying art there appealed to me because it was a different venue and a different audience that would see my work," she explained. "This would be more open to the general public than a gallery."
Sensenig, who maintains an art studio in downtown Sioux City where her primary medium is oil, chose a handful of her newest works, some scenes of Sioux City and some smaller paintings for display, in hopes of showing a "representation" of her work.
"I received phone calls and a lot of comments who saw my work at Johnathan Blake," she said. "They thought it was nice to have another venue in Sioux City for artists to show their creations."
Although Sensenig is no stranger to the Siouxland art community -- she has taught art, printmaking and drawing at the Art Center, as well as teaching at Morningside College and more recently at Western Iowa Tech -- she said people still are not aware she's an artist.
"I've had a lot of people I've known over the years say, 'I didn't know you were a painter.'," she said with a chuckle. "We think we're out there, but we're really not."
Although the Art Center displayed an exhibition of her paintings in the summer of 2006, Sensenig felt strongly that allowing artists to show their creations at a firm like Johnathan Blake would also be beneficial.
"There really are only a handful of galleries and coffee shops that show local artists," she pointed out. "There needs to be a place that local artists can be shown off."
Currently the two featured artists are painter Jan Redmond and photographer Ron Johns. Also on display are the paintings of Mack Maschmeier, a senior graphic design/studio art major at Morningside College, who works as a delivery man for the business.
"Mack had been talking about showing his work and he had helped put up some of the pieces for the previous artist reception, so we thought it would be a great chance for him to show his paintings," Bargmann said.
For now, the presentations are limited to wall art, such as photographs and painting. That doesn't preclude that at some point, Johnathan Blake Home Decor will have accessories, such as pottery or ceramics, Bargmann said.
"We're open to suggestions right now," she noted. "We also started with two presentations a year and are expanding to three with the next one in the fall."
Owner Kristi Leigh opened her home design studio and store in downtown Sioux City in February 2004 at the prodding of a number of her clients visiting her Okoboji, Iowa, store. Johnathan Blake is also located in Sioux Falls.
At the time Leigh said could have expanded elsewhere, but examined the market and felt Sioux City was ripe for a different kind of design and furniture studio, one that does everything from the floor plan to the finished product. In addition, she offers a number of accessories such as lamps, artwork, frames, floral arrangements, clocks, vases and sculptures.
Leigh and a friend started the business, but had trouble finding a suitable name. In a moment of inspiration, they decided to combine the names of their sons -- Johnathan after the first name of her friend's son and Blake after her son's middle name.
Johnathan Blake Home Decor is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday. Artists interested in submitting portfolios may stop in at Johnathan Blake, 1002 Historic Fourth St. or call 224-3030.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
