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Artists on Main is a fine arts gallery filled with the works
of talented local artists and artisans.
Nestled in on Main Street in Roseau, Minnesota,
the mission of this unique co-op is to provide arts access
to locally-made products.
Welcome to Artists on Main!
We started this store in 2010,
and it was a brainstorm
of a few of us to have a shop at Christmastime.
Ten of us split the rent and we put it together in two weeks.
I decided that we would open it for anybody else
that would like to come in with us.
We started out with 10;
at the end of December, we had 20 people.
More people after that, we ended up with about 25.
This is almost 3 years ago now.
Having a store, you can make more product,
because you're not going to have it sitting at home in a closet.
If you have painted 20 pictures a year,
now you have a location to bring your work, you can paint 50!
And then also increase your income
from the art sold.
This area here has been done by Sara Trangsrud.
She does pottery and she was one of the first people
who helped start Artists on Main.
Artists on Main has given artists in this community
an opportunity to get their artwork out there.
There's been many times I've been in there
and somebody walks in and it's, I never knew this shop was here,
I didn't know there was that many artists in this community.
And actually, it's only a fraction
of what's in the community.
There is so much creativity in the area,
and this gives such a good outlet for that.
We're brainstorming all the time,
new products... that's exciting!
We have products that are being
created by artists who never have
even touched some of the media
that they're working in now presently.
Another thing, as a store, we're very sensitive to each other
and what we make, so we have a good balance
in what is created within the store here.
It works because there are committed people
who are willing to work.
You have to have a person or persons
with a passion to be here.
It's not like a regular job.
I have a studio here; I basically come here to play.
I work, I paint, I work on my metal, talk to people all day.
This area here is done by Jean Honl, who is a rosemaler,
and does a beautiful product.
She's local, as all of the other artists in the store.
You know, that is a fun thing
because you have other artists besides yourself,
and they're creating what they want to create.
I'm hoping that it will stay in Roseau;
I'm hoping we can keep that open,
but it's a fun thing to do
to meet with other artists too and see what they are doing.
We're all so different.
I've received so much in my life
from other people supporting my art, and that is my passion,
to encourage them, to give them a selling location, in town,
downtown, and to be able to promote them as artists.
You can bring the mess here,
and we'll make it pretty! [laughs]