If 2021 was summed up in a word for us, it would be: CHANGE.
We start out every year setting ourselves goals for the year, as well as short term goals and long term goals. We thought 2021 was going to be another year of art shows, but being smarter about which ones we actually applied to and to stay closer to home when possible. We enjoyed sleeping in our own beds more in 2020. We thought I would continue out the season as the Rental Manager at Trollhaugen and go back the next fall. We thought Randy would continue his work at the tax office. That was the plan. Work smarter and hopefully have a wee bit more free time.
January and February went by with us both working jobs. March came along and in my planner I had all the shows written down that we were going to apply to that month. March 1st came and that was the day our lives and year completely changed. We met Greg and Catherine and signed a lease and opened a darn brick and mortar storefront on April 29th. Tin Cat Studio & other cool cats in Amery, WI. If you haven’t read about how all that came to be- you can read it HERE. With that decision it brought about us leaving ArtZ Gallery which was a hard decision as it had been our art home for years. It felt like we were leaving our friends behind, until we realized the were literally just down the road.
We did end up not applying to all the shows on our list. We picked a handful and tried to stay closer to home. What we thought would be a normal Art Fair year completely took us by surprise. They were off the charts amazing! People came out and supported artists like they have not in decades. It was thrilling, exciting and happiness after a year of not knowing if artists would make it. It also created a new problem for many, us included. Lack of art. Selling out was a dream in the past, a unicorn that there was whispers of happening here and there. Well, it almost happened to us in Madison and to many of our friends as well. A great thing to happen until you realize you must go home and make art 24/7 in order to have enough for the next show. So we made art. We ran a store and we had to put things like dinners and hiking and get togethers with friends aside. Galleries also sold well, our store sold well, so we made art and made trips to thrift stores to fill our store. We watched and admittedly a little sad at times while we watched family and friends out on their boats, fishing, enjoying the sunshine, dinner parties, etc. Sacrifices you make to fulfill a dream, and we were ok with it, at least for the time being.
Being that busy and stressed did push us to make other changes. Randy decided to retire his portrait and wedding photography business, Images by Lee. A tough decision as it can be good money, but the passion just wasn’t there anymore. We finished off our last wedding in October. Bittersweet.
We also decided to retire the traditional framing portion of our business. Lack of materials, raising prices and really not a high profit margin made the decision for us. Honestly, it was not a love of Randy’s, so being able to say no lifted a weight off of his shoulders. A hard change to make, but a needed change.
In between all of this, we fostered puppies. We ended up keeping one, so now we have 5 dogs, but still only 7 cats. Haha. We forgot about puppy energy and potty training, so that’s been a change.
Fall was a whirlwind too. Last of the weddings, end of summer shows and a much needed chance to get away. We were blessed enough to take a trip out west in mid October to see the Grand Tetons and a quick drive through Yellowstone. It was beautiful. We spent a lot of time together in the car and despite a hike gone wrong, still decided we liked each other. A blog post about that trip and hike will be coming soon…
November I went back to Trollhaugen as the Rental Manager. I admit, my heart is not in it this year. The store, our art and all of the ideas that run through my head for next year is what consumes me. The excitement for what we can do next. More classes, working with metal, Craft Circles, Ladies Nights and so many other thoughts I can’t get out of my head. I have worked there on and off for 30 years. So many great memories and things I would have never done had it not been for that place. I am so thankful. But I also realize it is time for me to fly (hee, hee did you sing it as a song?). And so I gave my notice. Well, a long notice but the understanding that this will be my last season. I’ll have to say, one of the harder decisions I have made. Bittersweet.
Now December and the harsh reality of a prosperous year. Taxes. The store did much better than we could have ever imagined, we received some more grants to help us along, art shows were great and for the first time in many years I was able to set some money aside. Some rainy day money. It really felt good. Well, we basically will be saying goodbye to that rainy day fund and will more than likely lose our health insurance for 2022 and possibly pay a bunch of premiums back. To be honest, it made me angry and angry at the world. We worked our asses off to finally get ahead and now it feels like we are being punished. It sucks. We had to give ourselves a reality check and chock it up to lessons learned, otherwise it’s hard not to hold onto that anger. Welcome to being a small business owner in America we have been told. Get used to it. Well grumble…
Overall it was an amazing year of new experiences, good health when so many lost people, lessons learned, changes made, new friends and overall happiness. I have on my wall a note that says “Challenge is Opportunity”. I think that has been very true for you 2021. Thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way. Thank you to everyone that has supported us. Thank you to everyone that has supported our store. We are so darn blessed.
Cheers to you all and here’s to a great new year ahead filled with opportunity!
Much love,
Randy and Lisa
