Business Musings: Playing to an Empty House...

Being in a retail business — art gallery or otherwise — is pretty much like a roller coaster ride.

You go UP, you go DOWN, you go UP, you go DOWN... and round and round. In the end, you somehow hope that'll you'll come out OK, or — at least — none the worse for wear.

Store Mascot: The original "Red Dragonfly" wire sculpture...

Old Times, New Times...

I was in the art gallery business for 15 years, elsewhere, long before my wife and I took the helm at the Red Dragonfly.

Back at that old gallery, we suffered a long series of setbacks over a period of several years... which eventually led to the realization that there comes a point where you have to face the fact that you are — in essence — "Playing to an Empty House."

It's not because you're doing a bad job; it's not because you don't have things people want... it's simply that you ended up at the convergence of a number of circumstantial points that conspired against you.

In the case of our old gallery, it was a bankrupt landlord, followed by a major road construction project, followed/overlapped by a regional recession, followed by the emergence of online shopping.

Of course, all businesses endure hard times, from time to time...

An Anniversary, of Sorts

Today — October 10th, 2018 — marks the anniversary of the flood we had here at The Red Dragonfly Gallery, and that date is part of the inspiration for writing this particular post.

The flood was a setback, and it was followed by several other setbacks; ultimately leading to that question of "When do you decide that you're pretty much playing to an empty house?"

Of course, we're not there yet, but it's still a question to be mindful about... no matter what business you're engaged in.

You can even consider the question in the context of something like Steemit, and investing in a crypto project. At what point to you face a reality you perhaps would rather not; namely that your efforts — no matter how well-intentioned — may never be enough to lift you to the sorts of results you had hopes of reaching?

Public Art in Port Townsend

Meanwhile, Elsewhere...

In the meantime, another "tourist season" is drawing to a close, here in our little seaside town.

We are analyzing the data, tallying the results and coming to the conclusion that changing local demographics and new shopping habits is having a major impact on the broader art business here.

This year, we saw three more art galleries/art venues close their doors, including our final traditional "white wall" gallery space. Meanwhile, the most successful newcomers on the scene include a "Ghost and History Tours" operator, a Winery/Wine tasting room, and a very fancy flavored olive oil vendor.

We see this as part of a greater trend away from "item-based" business towards "experience-based" business. And it's a trend that keeps our eyes very much on the "What are we going to do NEXT?" question.

Thanks for reading!

Red Dragonfly is a proud graduate through the @sndbox creative incubator program, part of the "Cohort 1" team of May 31st, 2018. Please support Sndbox and the @sndbox-alpha curation initiative!

The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.

2018.10.03