Park Life

Today in the Chronicle..... we were part of a piece on retail/gallery spaces.

Buying an original painting is now just as easy as picking up a lamp or getting replacement dish towels. And sometimes it doesn't even have to cost much more.

That's because a growing number of housewares shops are also doubling as art galleries, complete with elaborate show openings.

When Berkeley's Relish at Home reopened in September after a remodel, it had a gallery added by owner Kelly Sperbeck. A reception was held to celebrate the store's second anniversary, as well as artist Jill Bliss' new exhibition.

And last month, San Francisco became home to two more retail-gallery businesses: the Curiosity Shoppe and Rare Device.

The Curiosity Shoppe has existed as an e-commerce site since last year. Owners Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom have curated art shows since their college days at UC Santa Cruz, so when they opened a brick-and-mortar shop in the Mission District, including a gallery was a given.

"With CCA (California College of the Arts) and all these other great schools, there's so much creative energy in San Francisco," said Fagerstrom.

Rare Device opened on Market Street in late October, but its Brooklyn, N.Y., location has been around for about two years. "We always carried art objects," said owner Rena Tom, "and I always wanted to have more art, but there was no space."

While the original Rare Device is just 180 square feet, the San Francisco location starts off with 400 square feet and will expand to 1,000 next year. The extra room means that Tom and business partner Lisa Congdon can create a division between the product and gallery areas.

"Often times, stores and cafes will feature artwork mixed in with other stuff, so it's harder to engage with the art," said Congdon. An artist herself, she recently had a show at the Mission District's Candy Store, which carries clothing, home accessories and artwork.

"I owe so much to stores like Rare Device, Candy Store and Reform School (in Los Angeles)," she said. "They did an amazing job of promoting my work. And I want to do the same for others. I know how hard it is for new artists to get into galleries."

Congdon and Tom are approaching the gallery much as they do the retail operations.

"A store like ours is trying to showcase small designers to begin with," said Tom of the store's clothing and housewares selection.

"The art really grows out of that. Larger stores and galleries might buy from a rep, but we actually get to meet the artist and have them present at the openings."

Prices for artwork at Rare Device will probably range from $100 to $5,000, with shows changing almost monthly.

For artists, exhibiting in a retail space instead of a traditional gallery exposes them to a different audience, and has its monetary advantages. According to Congdon, a gallery and an artist will typically split sales 50/50. With a store - which relies more on merchandise for its revenue - an artist can receive 60 to 80 percent of the sale price.

At the Richmond District's Park Life, co-owner Jamie Alexander believes that "it's only fair that the artist get more than 50 percent," he said. "We're not a full-service gallery, so we can't promote or represent the artist the same way a gallery would."

Exhibitions at Park Life usually run about five weeks, with prices ranging from $20 to $7,500. Alexander and co-owner Derek Song often visit artist studios and art schools, as well as keep track of people they hear about through word of mouth. "We try to give everyone a fair shake," said Alexander. "Our aesthetic isn't fine art or lowbrow art. It's creative, emerging art."

Alexander, an art patron for years, has had his share of unpleasant gallery experiences. "No one wants to go to a stuffy gallery where the receptionist doesn't even give you the time of day," he said. "We're trying to introduce art to people who might not normally collect."

For Kati Kim, who opened Doe in 2004, incorporating a gallery "was always part of the plan," she said, "especially since we're in the Lower Haight. There's a big artist community here. Even the hair salons have artwork."

As someone who didn't collect art until she opened her store, Kim can perhaps sympathize with her clientele. "Most of my customers are artists, students and young professionals just starting out," she said. "They don't have hundreds to spend, but can appreciate the experience of going to a gallery."

Doe changes its exhibitions four times a year, in conjunction with the seasons. "We definitely get people who come to all of the openings and shop here regularly, too," said store manager Sarah Gion. "It's nice to see all of the people coming out to support the San Francisco artist community. And the openings offer a different way to interact with our customers - less formal, more relaxed."

Artwork at Doe has been marked as low as $20 and as high as $900. "One of the really big things for me is for people to take home part of the experience, even if you can't afford a $50 painting," said Kim. "With each show, I try to have the artist create some kind of merchandise tie-in, like a pin or card set - something in a price range that almost anyone can afford. So they can come in, see the show and take a piece of it with them."

Hayes Valley's Rose and Radish has taken the concept of retail-gallery the furthest - completely merging the two ideas. Every item in the shop is part of the exhibition, and every item is for sale.

"The idea was to highlight a few designers and group their work under one theme, and then change that out," explained owner Cate Kellison.

Although it opened as a flower shop in August 2001, Kellison reinvented the business as a design gallery last year. The floral service remains, but it handles mostly deliveries and special events now.

When a new theme is introduced at Rose and Radish, the shop shuts down for a week. The entire space is transformed - including the walls, floor and ceiling decor - and new merchandise is brought in to fit the theme. The biggest challenge, said Kellison, is balancing the desire to sell out every show with the need to maintain inventory for customers to view.

Owners of these combination businesses often use the word "community" - and that extends beyond just the artist community. At Rose and Radish, for example, employee and artist Jill Pilotte devised the Sixty Forty Print Club. With each new exhibition, a limited-edition art print is offered - the money from which is split between the artist and a charity, 60 percent and 40 percent.

"We're just offering our store and gallery space as a venue," said Kellison. "The idea is to build community and be able to do something good."

At Park Life, the owners have donated their space for various benefits and fundraisers. Earlier this month, the store's proceeds from its first-anniversary celebration went toward the Coalition on Homelessness.

For these hybrids, the true measure of success may not be simply the bottom line - especially for those who treat their businesses as a labor of love.

"It might be stupid from a business standpoint," said Fagerstrom - referring to the fact that the Curiosity Shoppe owners had to carve out retail, gallery, office and storage areas in a small space. The gallery is expected to bring in revenue, but it also takes up precious square footage.

"We curate from our hearts, from our guts," he said. "We choose our merchandise not because a rep has told us that this is going to be a best-seller. We choose things we love and artists we want to support. If other people love it, then that's really great."