The owners of Brick & Mortar Living don't want their newest business endeavour to feel like just another retail store.
Sisters Julia Dewhurst and Emma Nash, along with their mother Jennifer Pistone, are currently putting the finishing touches on Sixth Street Popup + Gallery, a 1,400 sq. ft. space two doors down from their home-decor boutique.
The goal is to feature different designers, whether it's in the realm of pottery or handbags, for two to three weeks at a time. In between these "popup" viewings, the space will showcase local art on the weekend while staff set up the next viewing.
"I want it to feel very much like these designs are art," Pistone told the Record.
"We want to showcase New West, to have people come out and visit, and to just fall in love with it, just like we did," Dewhurst added.
Of the 130 designers who sell their wares at Brick & Mortar Living, Pistone said about 100 of them don't live in the area.
"This space is low risk for designers who want to try the market out here and see how their product sells. The hope is that some of these people will consider moving their business to New West," she explained.
The idea of starting up a popup + gallery floated around for months, according to Dewhurst, but it finally gained traction when the space next door opened up in February.
"Because the building we're in has been bought by developers, leases are not being renewed, so when we saw the unit sitting empty, we jumped at the opportunity," she said.
The plan is to run the free shows over the next year, at which time Pistone anticipates a six-month notice to leave the premises (a new location has yet to be decided upon).
While not many structural improvements have been made to the former fitness studio, Dewhurst said she's had to apply a couple coats of fresh paint.
"We've also built a movable wall we can use in two places. Because the space is quite big, it's not necessarily going to be filled up to the brim each time we have a show," she noted.
Meanwhile, the family is already working on the first exhibit for the grand opening on Thursday, April 9.
The exhibit will feature the #newwestproject, a social-media initiative started by Dewhurst a couple years ago. The idea is simple: share what New West means to you through photos and post them to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook with the aforementioned hashtag.
"I think it's important to see different sides of the city. Sometimes you can get really stuck in your own routine and not realize just how great a place you get to live in," the entrepreneur said.
More than 700 pictures have been submitted so far, more than Dewhurst ever expected, she said. From that pile, around 100 will make the cut.
"There's no question these people won't want to come see the show; their piece is hanging. This will really engage the whole community," Pistone said.
Brick & Mortar Living is located at 52 Sixth Street, while the gallery is at 42 Sixth Street.
