December Pop-Up Shops @ Finch Lane Gallery
Community
For 12 days in December, the Finch Lane Gallery will host its first Pop-Up Shop series. Each day showcases a hand-picked artist who has the entirety of the four-hour session to run their pop-up shop, displaying and selling their goods to attendees. “It’s sort of a meshing between our typical exhibitions and our Winter Craft Market,” says Claire Taylor, Visual Arts Coordinator for the Salt Lake City Arts Council. “I felt like this was a good way to highlight individual artists, bring new artists into the gallery and to speak to the fact [that] individual artists are a business of their own.” Originally, Taylor planned for nine artists to participate, but after receiving many great submissions, she masterfully fit in three more slots to accommodate more shops. 11 out of the 12 artists in the Pop-Up Shop run will be first-time presenters at the gallery.
The Pop-Up Shop provides artists a venue where customers can connect with them and their work in-person while also increasing accessibility for those who can’t run an online storefront. Some artists plan on selling home goods: For example, Alise Anderson’s Dec. 17 shop, Soft Talk, offers contemporary home goods and furniture from jesmonite bowls to tufted rugs. Anderson currently enjoys an artist residency at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts, bringing her more traditional artistic background to the Pop-Up Shop with one-of-kind, creative pieces.
Also providing home good options is Jane Philips, displaying wood-fired porcelain and stonework from Boulder, Utah on the 18. The flashing method defines her teapots, teacups, whiskey sippers and other goods, where deposited wood ash from the firing process leaves behind distinct unique marks. “To me, these objects embody the story of raw material, fire, water and time coming together to create a utilitarian container that encourages a relationship with the earth and the elements,’’ says Philips. In her opinion, online market spaces fail to translate the quality of her work, so a physical shop allows customers to appreciate these daily-use goods before they purchase them.
However, home goods represent only a small slice of what attendees can expect from the Pop-Up Shop. Zubaidah Sadeq’s Dec. 7 shop features hand-crafted jewelry made from high-quality raw materials. “I’m interested in face-to-face markets because I love connecting with people and think there’s a great potential to grow my business when I meet people and share my story,” says Sadeq. “In everything, I do in my business, l am focused on bringing together different cultures and societies.” Sadeq participated in a previous Craft Lake City DIY Festival, but is otherwise new to the craft market scene.
“‘To me, these objects embody the story of raw material, fire, water and time coming together to create a utilitarian container that encourages a relationship with the earth and the elements,’’ says Philips.”
Lindy Coburn’s pop-up on Dec. 11, Bunnies and Bears, offers hand-knit dolls, each with their own unique name, personality and costume. “I am a proud introvert, so I have been practicing my whole life for [the] COVID quarantine,” says Coburn. “I spent my quarantine hours hand knitting emotional support animals (bunnies and bears) that I have donated to children’s hospitals and will be selling at my Finch Lane Pop-up Shop.” Unlike most of the other shops, Coburn caters specifically to kids.
During the Pop-Up Shop sessions, guests also see pieces entered into the Utah Division of Arts & Museums 2021 Statewide Annual competition for Craft, Photography, Video & Digital. The exhibit offers a more conventional gallery-going experience, displaying some of the best works in the state.
The December Pop-Up Shop series will run Dec. 4–21 at the Finch Lane Gallery, located at 54 Finch Lane, in SLC. Weekday sessions go from 4–8 p.m., and weekend sessions run from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. For more information about Finch Lane Gallery, the Pop-Up Shop and artists who make them possible, visit the Salt Lake City Arts Council website saltlakearts.org/finchlanegallery.