Best Shops To Buy Affordable Art In Minnesota
If art is in the eye of the beholder, the price should not matter. It takes a keen eye and just a little effort to stumble upon attractive art for the home that is also affordable. See three great shops in a previously published article, Best Places To Buy Local Art For Less Than $100. The following are five of the best little metro-area shops where the avid aficionado can decorate his or her home with pennies to spare.
Minnetonka Center for the Arts
2240 N. Shore Drive
Wayzata, MN 55391
(952) 473-7361 Ext. 16
www.minnetonkaarts.org
Minnetonka Center for the Arts started as an educational endeavor to help ensure that Minnesota individuals and families include art in their daily lives. Classes, workshops and events are offered to foster the culture of art in the community. At MCA's location in Wayzata, people looking to buy affordable, local art can purchase some of the works featured from the Minnetonka Center for the Arts. It's a great way to find one-of-a-kind art and give back to the community that provided it.
Fired Up Studios
1701 E. Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 852-2787
www.firedupstudios.com
Fired Up Studio exhibits its member artists' choice ceramic art open to the public every day during office hours. Many gallery items are offered at especially reasonable prices. Preview the beautiful shapes, colors and radiance of members' oeuvre on their websites. Find both web addresses and contact information of member artists on the Fired Up website. See also friend artists, many of whom used to work at Fired Up, also listed on the website. The Studio encourages shoppers to contact any of these artists directly. Fired Up also features an event calendar and mailing list notices for upcoming shows.
The Studio at Rush Creek
9481 Garland Lane N.
Maple Grove, MN 55311
(763) 315-3001
www.studio-rush.com
The Studio at Rush Creek is a walk-in art studio, a coffee bar and a shop with hundreds of exclusive yet affordable handmade gifts such as jewelry, paintings and glass art. A quick check online indicates reasonable pricing of these many art pieces made either by staff, artists or students. The Studio offers a class every day in one of many areas such as stained glass, glass fusing, metal jewelry making, textile or digital art. The fully stocked studio allows artists to employ their skills in stained glass, glass fusing with kilns, sterling silver jewelry making, torch work, glass bead making, fine silver fusing, precious metal clay work and ceramic painting.
i like you
501 1st Ave. N.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 208-0249
www.ilikeyouonline.com
Just across the river from downtown is a store packed full of appealing little eye candy. Here, Sarah Sweet and Angela Lessman have packed a cute little shop full of different and attractive findings from over 200 local artists and crafters. The merchandise is new and different every time you browse. The owners welcome customers to picnic on their large green Astroturf carpet next to the big red swing.
The Steeple People Thrift Store
2004 Lyndale Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55405
(612) 871-8305
www.hennepinchurch.org/steeplepeople
Always worth a stop-by and peek-in, you never know what you may find at The Steeple People Thrift Store. The items are old, the quality is good and the prices are reasonable. Proceeds go back to the community. In addition to art work, the shop contains antique furniture, glassware, china, rare books, linens, kitchen items, vintage clothing, records and CDs. This outreach ministry of Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church was established in 1979.
Robin Johnson was born in Annandale, Minn. and graduated from Richfield High School and then the University of Minnesota where he studied Political Science, Business and Industrial Relations. A writer for Examiner.com, he also consults with a variety of organizations and individuals helping them develop and grow. His work can be found at Examiner.com.
