Gift Shop Update

Gift Shop Closure 

The difficult decision has been made to temporarily close the gift shop at the Blue Ridge ArtSpace.

​While we LOVE showcasing the amazing work of local artists, we found that the shop had become too cumbersome to manage. Finding volunteers to staff the shop had become difficult and the system for managing inventory and sales needed an overhaul. The amount of money we made in sales each year just did not justify the amount of work it was taking to keep it open. The gift shop was taking the largest room in our building.

The board has decided to use the former Gift Shop room to provide a space that is more condusive to art classes. The larger room will allow us to adjust to COVID guidelines for Physical distancing while still supporting arts education for our community.

All is not lost! We may reopen the gift shop after the dust settles from starting classes again or we may offer a hybrid solution by merging the gift shop with gallery space. We just needed to clear the space and start with a clean slate and approach that project with fresh eyes. Please let us know if you have ideas or thoughts about this. We want to hear from you. 

Some gift shop items have been donated for our yard sale on September 19, 2020. Please come by and purchase the beauitful work to support the Watauga County Arts Council. 

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