It is official. We have started a blog. This is Stacie Carter writing, but hopefully, I will not be the only author of this blog....although for a while I have a sneaky feeling I will be. It would be pretty cool to have some of our artists join in or even some of you who have deep, meaningful things to discuss....or funny stories...who knows.
My husband, Steve, and I started this business with Gene and Carol Green in November 2009 - right in time for Christmas in Cullman. From the beginning, we have set out to promote, display and encourage as many artists as possible through our store. We have been so fortunate to welcome in almost 30 amazingly talented artists so far. We also have some unique home decor pieces. Everything meshes together quite well. Rather than writing something that has already been written...for the first post I am going to include the full details of our business that we all four created when we were recently nominated for New Small Business of the Year (yeah, no kidding!) Another business won the award (and they surely deserved it.) We were pretty excited to even be nominated. So here's the scoop:
Our goal is to provide a fun, unique experience to our customers and to encourage, promote and support local and regional artists. In July 2009, a business model for The Shops at 3rd Street Promenade was born. It included supporting artists but also the community. Upon completion of the business model, it was quickly realized what skill sets were needed in an individual to be our partner. There are many talented artists in the area that do not have the opportunities or outlets for the amazing work they produce. We immediately began contacting artisans possessing the skills needed to make this happen. These ideas were quickly grasped with tremendous enthusiasm! Promenade has gone beyond the original boundaries of Cullman and now includes Birmingham, Huntsville, Nashville, Hartselle and Oneonta. We provide a beautiful, historic space in downtown Cullman where artists from all over the South can display and sell their work. We focus mainly on original, handcrafted items such as paintings, photography, pottery, furniture, clay and metal sculpture, and wood work. Offered is a vast array of work at prices that allow everyone to join the effort of supporting these artists. It is an honor to have a chance to connect with them, contribute to their success and give Cullman something new and different to enjoy.
The store is located in the historic West Side Furniture building. We had a vision of various types of “shops” along a painted cobblestone path that circle around a “park” with greenery and trees. The shops include a mock theater for displaying large work and a marquee to announce the featured artist of the month. Customers can take a stroll through the area and see original works of art and many handcrafted and home décor items. Great attention was given to maintaining the original charm of the building by using the beautiful tin ceiling and exposed brick walls. Enclosed is a photograph of the original business owner and employees taken in the early 1900s in our present day space. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the similarities today! We are pleased to be caretakers of this proud old building and take seriously our part in the continued vitalization of downtown historic Cullman.
We wanted to create a venue that allowed us to support and participate in a variety of events in support of the community. We have held art classes called “Painting at Promenade.” These are open to the public, and everyone is invited to come in and have a great time. Additional plans include offering various classes such as painting clay flower pots, sketching, stained glass art, landscape painting, Mag Art and many others. Our talented instructors will guide participants through the process step-by-step and help them create an original work of art. These will make great gifts for weddings, graduations, Mothers and Fathers Day as well as birthdays. This will be their own work of art bringing them or the recipients of the gift joy for years to come. In our 5 months of business, we have already held an art show for our artists and a fundraiser for a non-profit organization in the community. We plan to host these types of events on a regular basis.
It is our goal at Promenade to give our customers a memorable shopping experience that makes them want to bring friends (local and out-of-town) back to the store to share it with them as well. We would love for them to own something special that will enrich their lives as well as the lives of others. We want to be a place of which the entire community can be proud and join with us as we encourage the creativity of our surroundings and support the charitable spirit that is within the people of Cullman.
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