Absolutely Art Wins a Top Retailer Award for "Best Promotional Event"
Madison, Wis., Retailer Honored for Recycling Event
BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 1, 2010) -- NICHE, the exclusive trade magazine for retailers of fine craft, has chosen Absolutely Art's "Re-Art Swap" recycling day program to win a 2010 Top Retailer Award for "Best Promotional Event."
Absolutely Art, located at 2322 Atwood Ave. in Madison, Wis., is an art gallery featuring original fine art and affordable gifts created by local artists. Owned by Meghan Blake-Horst, the gallery started with 30 artists and has grown to showcase the work of more than 200 artists, mostly from the Madison area.
"Working with so many local artists and art organizations, we noticed a need for affordable art supplies, and to recycle unused materials," Blake-Horst said.
The "Re-Art Swap" is a recycling event held twice a year in the backyard of the gallery. Each spring and fall, artists, schoolteachers, families and others in the community donate unwanted and leftover art materials - or choose needed supplies from the donated inventory. The gallery stores the untraded items in its basement and makes them available year-round when artists, schools or other organizations need supplies.
More than 200 people attended the last swap, Blake-Horst said after accepting the NICHE Top Retailer Award for "Best Promotional Event" during ceremonies held recently at the Buyers Market of American Craft tradeshow in Baltimore.
"Her ability to promote the gallery goes way beyond the usual media coverage, as she uses ?events like the Re-Art Swap to get people to come check them out," Laura Meddaugh, a Madison artist, wrote in a letter supporting Absolutely Art's nomination for the Top Retailer Award.
The NICHE Top Retailer Awards program annually recognizes retailers for their efforts to promote fine crafts made by U.S. and Canadian artists, to nuture and mentor artists, and to engage in fair business practices. For a complete list of the 2010 winners, see www.nichemagazine.com.
About NICHE magazine NICHE magazine (www.nichemagazine.com) is published by The Rosen Group, a Baltimore-based arts marketing, publishing and advocacy firm. The Rosen Group also publishes AmericanStyle magazine (www.AmericanStyle.com), an arts lifestyle magazine for enthusiasts, collectors and travelers, and produces the Buyers Market of American Craft (www.AmericanCraft.com), the nation's largest wholesale craft show. For more information, images or interviews, contact Jean Thompson at 800.432.7238, ext. 218, or jeant@rosengrp.com.
