Gallery Shibui - Inspire + Enlighten: the Gallery Shibui Blog

Change Always Happens

2010-01-08T13:47:08-05:00

Whenever I go through a big change in my life, I writhe and wrestle. It’s uncomfortable and scary for me and yet I know that when I get through to the other side, life will be better. A good friend of mine said to me once, “I’m amazed at how adaptable human beings really are.” I think understanding that has helped me find the courage to initiate change in my own life.

As most of you know, I closed my store in Cameron Village last November. It was, of course, a tremendous disappointment, but it was a necessary change which I deliberated about for some time. Somehow I didn’t seem able to summon the courage to make it happen earlier. I held out a lot of hope that the economy would turn around and that somehow the struggle to pay the rent would be alleviated. But it wasn’t and so when there was someone willing to assume the remainder of my lease, I forged ahead and tried to make the most of whatever was to come. I focused on trying to salvage the part of the business that was successful and which I enjoyed the most—that being the paper and the workshops. I didn’t do that alone. I had the help and encouragement of friends, family, and a loyal employee. To all those people, I am indebted.

I have come through to the other side and am better off for it. I’m located in a wonderful space at Rebus Works where I have room for the workshops and am literally surrounded by my beautiful paper. I’m grateful that Shonna Greenwell, the owner of Rebus Works, offered me the opportunity to be here and I’m enjoying the synergy that exists between her gallery and my little paper shop. Here’s a glimpse of a happy book arts workshop recently held in our new home.

Change always happens!

Collaboration

2009-05-30T14:42:25-04:00

Collaboration is a word that most of us know the meaning of. To us at Gallery Shibui, it’s the coming together of people to create a common purpose. We’ve probably all been in collaborations at various times in our life. I can remember that when I was in Elementary School it was called “working in groups,” and then it was all about having children learn to work together. But as adults it takes on an even larger meaning. When I was practicing Interior Design, most projects were collaborative—we worked in teams—so that the best of all the ideas at the table could form the best solution for the design problem. Sometimes there was disagreement and heated dialogue, but in the end the collaborative process served our clients’ best interests.

We believe the process of collaboration is important and can be powerful and we are going to more actively pursue collaborative projects in the future. That future starts now. There are many wonderful artists, designers, and other businesses with whom collaboration can be beneficial to Gallery Shibui as well as to them. I am listing below some of the businesses and people with whom we are in the process of collaboration..

Officina Briani is the Letterpress and printing business of Brian Allen. We are in the process of developing some cross marketing of our Book and Paper Arts Workshops with Brian. How lovely to make a book here at Gallery Shibui from letterpress text that you have learned from Officina Briani! Or, how about incorporating paste papers you made at Brian’s studio into your books or boxes. Of course, the possibilities are almost endless.

Here is the link to Brian’s website.
www.officinabriani.com