The Seen Gallery Closing
Decatur Metro | February 25, 2014Decaturish has an extensive report this morning on the impending closing of The Seen Gallery, the art gallery on Church Street that’s been in Decatur since 2002…
Bill Bibb and Vicki Elders are confronting the stages of their grief.
Bibb is closing The Seen Gallery on Church Street in Decatur where Elders is the gallery’s manager, but he hasn’t made the official announcement yet. He hasn’t set a closing date, but said it will probably be gone within a month. Most of the art in the store is on sale.
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Why is it I never appreciate a business until it is gone. I have enjoyed many a meanderings through that Gallery. Thanks to Bill and Vicki for exposing us some great art in Decatur!
They have a huge Pete the Cat collection. Will be meandering over this weekend
This sucks. I really love that gallery. They’ve always had lots of cool, and surprisingly affordable artwork. They will definitely be missed.
Bill has had some pretty serious health issues over the past several years. He hasn’t looked to good lately either when I have seen him in front of the store on his “smoke breaks.”
I wish him well.
Oh, this is bad. What will downtown be without The Seen??
Can’t say that I ever bought anything from them, but I’ve always enjoyed walking by the cool window displays.
Damn. Bought two Travis Smith paintings there. I will miss that place. Best wishes to you both in your future endeavors!
Why can’t we keep the retail downtown? Is it the rent prices? Lack of business? We have had some very nice shops come and go, even discounting the downturns.
Have you been downtown lately? There are comings and goings, but tell me, how many retail spaces have sat empty for more than 3 months at a time, over the past year? (I know, the Hola space, but other than that.)
I assumed the comment was about non-restaurant retail retail, which does seem to struggle. We’ve lost Mingei, Taste, the place next to Java Monkey, Blue Elephant, to name a few.
There are non restaurant retail businesses in downtown that seem to do well. Worthmore Jewelers, Cooks Warehouse, Squash Blossom, Little Shop of Stories, Boogaloos … just to name a few.
That’s true, but I think the main challenge for some of our retailers has been that we don’t have a true retail anchor. I don’t mean a department store, but something that pulls people to Decatur from across the metro region. The westside of Atlanta, which is the other restaurant/retail hot spot right now, is pulling in national brands, or new brands to Atlanta, which benefit all the local shops over there as well. We love our local boutiques in Decatur, but only so many can cut through the clutter and find a sustainable niche. Having a brand name destination pulling more people to town would go a long way towards providing spill-over benefits for our local retailers.
And before I get in trouble, this is not me advocating for Wal-Mart!
Do you have a specific example in mind? Doesn’t seem like there is a lot of space in or close to downtown that could attract an anchor-type retailer.
Before they imploded, Lululemon maybe?
If Decatur can support *3* running shoe stores (all of which are destinations stores and have loyal customers), surely there are other niches as well that could work. I think Decatur’s location is attractive for people who live in town and may already be coming here to dine anyway.
Personally, I would like to see a sport/clothing store for “regular people” (i.e. not a botique), with some emphasis on quality outdoor clothes. Jeans and exercise shirts, as well as brands like Patagonia and Mountain Hardware, for example. Lots of places have independent retailers with this kind of clothing. Like the clothing lineup at REI or EMS, for example.
Bingo. We need a Mast General Store!! Who’s gonna start the Facebook Page?
Yes or a DD Bullwinkel’s (Brevard). And a Rocky’s soda fountain wouldn’t be bad either.
I would also love to see a straight up outdoor store although, for the record, Sq/Ft does carry some Patagonia clothing and day packs. They often have great sales too.
We’ve had these conversations so many times over the years. Someone is sad when we lose a wonderful store or restaurant. Others respond that plenty of other places are surviving just fine. Or that it’s just life in the big city. Sometimes we launch into what was wrong with the establishment, which seems like beating a dead horse. Occasionally, we’re all relieved a place is gone.
I’ve concluded that the small business world is tough and I have great admiration for those who tackle it. When a store or restaurant that was a great pleasure in my life closes, I’m sad, even if there’s good explanations for it. Kind of like extinct plants or animals. And I will always miss every single bookstore that closed in Decatur–Final Touch, Wordsworth (well, it was almost in Decatur), Wordsmith, Indie, Blue Elephant, and whatever ones I have forgotten. My only comfort is the plethora of Little Libraries that have sprung up.
Dear All,
Thank you from.. to use a cliche,.. the bottom of my heart, to read the well-wishes above. We will be vacating the premises sometime prior to March 14, probably March 12. First, we wish to thank the citizens of Decatur for supporting us over the past 11 years. By “support” I do not mean “purchasing”. I refer to our friends and neighbors who have simply come in to view what we think is one of the best, if not the best, stable of artists in Metropolitan Atlanta. To use another cliche… art is for the people. We would also like to think the City of Decatur, including everyone from City Hall to the police on the street for their help in promoting us and the many other small businesses in the city. The Arts Alliance of Decatur perhaps most of all. Hopefully, depending on our energy and time permitting.. we will have a final showing within the next few weeks, consisting primarily of art which the gallery has collected from their own artists over the last 11 years. Much will not be for sale, but there will be some choice pieces. As an aside, we never put art “on sale”. This would be an affront to our artists, whose art is worth what it is worth and not a penny less. We do have some art supplies ‘on sale’ and some art which has appreciated in value over the years, but most of what we will be displaying is work by the artists, who we love, and whose art which we love. There will be more. I can convey our sincerest thanks to everyone in the City of Decatur.. well.. almost everyone.
Best,
Bill Bibb