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Pat Craig admits to a bout of “new-parent blindness” at first sight of her studio and its quirky block of Pomfret Street in Carlisle.
“We didn’t quite understand why other artists couldn’t see the charm of running here and opening a business right next door,” she says.
A downtown revitalization expert taught her the “if you build it, they will come” approach to turning a neglected stretch of buildings into an arts-retail-office-dining destination. Perk it up with color, greenscaping, and artsy touches, the consultant said, and artists will grasp the potential.
That’s exactly what happened, starting around 2004.
“You need artists in a downtown mix because they’re kind of a circus animal,” Craig says. “They’re the thing that makes regular architecture or the things you see and do every day a little bit absurd, a little bit different, and that makes things a little more enjoyable.”
Today, the So-Hi Arts District at West Pomfret and South Hanover streets boasts forsythia growing in barrels, purple parking meter posts, artistically adorned mannequins and carousel horses, and vignettes painted on brick walls. Shop for chocolates and Pennsylvania wines, peruse boutiques, take art classes, and enjoy a farm-to-table lunch or Italian cuisine for dinner.
And it’s all because of “three stupid women changing how our block is perceived by the public, by the way we approached not just our businesses but how we play on the street.” Around the time Craig acquired her space at 30 West Pomfret Street, Judy Mohr launched Artist Market of Pomfret Street, and Lin Jackman founded Camellia’s Sin Tea Room. The three created the Pomfret Street Group, now a nonprofit that promotes its members collectively and sponsors such fundraisers as the annual spring Wine Walk and fall Beer Crawl (ShoptheBlockPA on Facebook).
The trio also stepped beyond their shop boundaries and engaged with the Carlisle business community. When the Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority asked Craig to write a grant proposal, she said yes. Showcasing the authority’s low-interest real estate financing, the proposal won a $50,000 grant that supported other downtown businesses.
“We were all 50-plus when we did this, and we had no idea that anything we did could be that important to the rest of downtown,” Craig says.
Today, Pat Craig Studios is a custom framing shop and boutique brimming with fun and whimsy–from a wall of themed socks, to Cheshire Cat ornaments, to beer-bottle cap “Beerring” earrings.
But there is so much more going on in Pat Craig’s life. The building adjoining Craig’s studio is now The Pond, an artists’ collective and gallery. Custom-renovated in sleek style for artists and their wares, it’s an ecosystem where each occupant thrives on the health of the others.
“It’s nice to be a part of a whole unit like this,” artist Tim Hoover says as he stops to chat with Craig on the way to his studio. “You can’t make it on your own.”
Case in point: The Pond’s Penny Gallery, where the floor will be laid with pennies brought by people attending “penny potlucks.” That makes the gallery “a community investment.”
“You’re going to be part of this slightly absurd thing, and it’s kind of fun, and you will take it and share it. And when you take it and share it, people will come to the building.”
The rehabbed space is all about enticing visitors to explore, from the see-through doors to the railing that changes colors as you climb the stairs.
“Artists need to be able to have a space where they can create their work, but the reality is, people need to be able to see them if they’re going to buy their work. Unless they want to make their work and shove it all under their bed, somewhere you have to help artists be seen.”
The time devoted to Pomfret Street has distracted somewhat from Craig’s own artistic pursuits, but her female torso mannequin studded with outward-pointing nails, “ENTITY,” was selected for Susquehanna Art Museum’s “Identity Spectrum” exhibition (susquehannaartmuseum.org). Running through August 5, the exhibit spotlights “individual expression and the definition of gender.”
“We can be iron maidens, tough as nails, but also when the nails go around the shapes and the way the light goes through them, then it’s really very soft looking,” she explains.
Craig’s studio is her way of leading by example, managing the intersection of art and commerce. The key to driving change, she believes, is opening up to all partnerships and possibilities.
“If one person thinks they can’t make a significant difference in the immediate world around them, [they] actually can,” she says.
Pat Craig Studios / 30 W. Pomfret St., Carlisle, PA / 717-245-0382 / on Facebook and Instagram
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
The Pond
Supporting Like Organisms
Artist and Carlisle cornerstone of the arts scene downtown, Pat Craig explains the story behind her newest venture, The Pond.
"The Pond; Art Studios & Gallery is the building attached to mine, we purchased it 2 years ago when our neighbor Pat Pond was diagnosed with advanced stage of Alzheimers. We had a long standing verbal agreement between us to purchase it when and if she ever decided to sell. She was a lifetime member of Mensa, a private instructor with the Army War College, a good neighbor and friend with a wicked sense of humor. When her kids moved her to Atlanta to be close to a son, I made her a big photo album of 8x10" color pictures of all the things she treasured about her home, our block and all of us since I knew these memories were so important to her and she was terrified of forgetting. Her dad died from this illness and she’d known for a long time it would become her fate too, she just had hoped not so quickly. I know it sounds like I’m referencing her in a past tense, and in many ways she is. She’s in a facility now in Atlanta and doing as well as can be hoped for, but she has lost the mental faculties she so lived by. She knew our plans for the building and I made sure she knew we were naming it The Pond, in honor of her. She was an art collector and traded quite knowledgeably in fine antique china in her retirement years. She loved listening to our summer concert series, occasionally feeling up to attending for a few minutes but mostly opening her bedroom windows and listening from her bed.”
Craig recounts, "When we first started our renovations on our building, then painting it blue, she did not mince words with me about how much she didn’t like the changes. I told her it was fine to not like the changes, and assured her she might never like the odd things I’d do, but I guaranteed her she wouldn’t be able to not like me. She reminded me of that conversation shortly before she left, saying I was right with the exception that she didn’t just like me, she loved me. And I love her. She was a salty old dog with great integrity and I had great respect for her. She could be very much the smart ass and we both loved the exchanges over the years. (She accused me of purposely tormenting her by putting my naked male torso planter just outside her front door. True, I did. She said, at least give him some pants, so I gave him a loin cloth and kept his bare butt facing her door. She finally said, you know you’re right not to cover that handsome ass because I enjoy patting it every day for good luck.)"
"So The Pond is now a completely renovated collective of artist's studios, plus a ground floor gallery (still working on that) and an artist studio/retail shop on the ground floor. In honor of Pat Pond's philanthropic heart, we have made the first floor studio and retail space occupied by K. Olsen Ceramics free for her first year. We know how hard it is to open an arts based retail business especially when you’re the artist too. We saw great potential in Kirsten’s abilities and drive to make this high stakes dream a reality and knew we wanted to be able to help her make it work. She is also in charge of the kiln firings and ceramics studio next door at CALC so their couldn’t be a more perfect arrangement. After the first year we’ll all take stock and babystep her into the costs of entrepreneurship. We truly believe our downtowns need the vibrancy of these young people starting new businesses and know too often we lose them prematurely when life gets in the way. If we can help them invest in themselves without strapping them unnecessarily with our buildings costs and overhead before they can actually get a firmer hold on establishing their business, then we as a town have a better chance of a stronger business staying in place longer than a year or two."
Craig explains, "This free space is not something we can afford to do for more than the first year and there are no guarantees what the future will hold for either of us, but regardless, we know it’s the best way to help a talented artist with retail aspirations and we’re glad to be part of her early growth."
"The definition of a ‘pond' is that it’s 'a landlocked environment supporting like organisms.' We named it for Pat Pond and the definition fits perfectly. Ceramicist K. Olsen’s story is just one of five in our building. They all come with their own unique needs and the connecting safety line is the arts."
Craig continues, "It’s been a much slower project than we’d planned, time and resources often running in short supply, but we want it completed reusing as much original material as we can salvage from the building and providing multi-use spaces for artists, performers, and small event rentals. From recycling the original tin ceiling to installing 160,000 pennies for the Penny Gallery floor, we have a big story in a tiny place.”