Fourth Friday Gallery Walks!

Tomorrow is it!  Fourth Friday of the month is always Fourth Friday Gallery Night!  At Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts, we celebrate each of these evenings with refreshments, a featured artists, and many of our members in attendance.  It's an opportunity to meet our artists, view the work of 20 talented, local artisans, and mingle with lots of fun people!  Right across the hall from us in The Cotton Exchange is the Golden Gallery.  And from there, you can walk all around downtown Wilmington NC to visit 20+ studios, galleries, restaurants, and boutiques that feature notable artwork.

This month at Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts, we feature Melanie Walter, creator of long-leaf pine needle basketry.  Melanie is an award-winning artist who sells her work nationally.  She frequently combines pottery with her creations, and/or incorporates other natural or vintage materials.

This Friday evening, we also are pleased to introduce Brad Eklund, our newest member, who designs decorative and functional wood puzzles in a variety of woods. 

We hope you will join us for a beautiful evening at Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts - and elsewhere throughout the downtown area of Wilmington.  Please visit our Facebook page and our newsletter for updates.

GREAT NEWS from Constant Contact!

We are pleased to announce that Constant Contact has named us as one of the 2011 All-Stars!   That means that we are considered one of Constant Contact’s 2010 top performers and most prolific user of its tools. We are thrilled with this designation and wish to thank Constant Contact AND of course, all our artists, readers, followers, and customers.

CTCT has some of the most practical and functional tools available for email marketing, and in addition, they are to be commended for their immediate response to requests for support via phone, email, and online chat.  As the "editor" of this blog, the PCPFC newsletter, and our FB Page, I find their product and support services are unmatched!

Gail Goodman, chairman, president and CEO of Constant Contact said, “The Constant Contact All Star Awards are our way of recognizing our customers that have successfully used Constant Contact to market their companies. We have some of the most committed, passionate customers out there and we’re proud we can be a part of their continued success.” They evaluate the following criteria:

·    Frequency of campaigns, events and surveys

·  Open, bounce and click through rates

·  Usage of social features

·  Mailing list sign up tools

·  Use of reporting tools

 Thank you, Constant Contact, for our latest award!

 

WE ARE 20! Welcome to Brad Eklund!

Not our age, but our member numbers!  With our newest member, Brad Eklund, and his amazing, amusing, skillful, and environmentally sound wooden puzzles, we are now 20!  And actually, with his wife, Hazel, we have for the first time since opening more than 20 members in our gallery.

And now that we mention our opening, we will celebrate our FOURTH Anniversary during Fourth Friday Gallery Nights in April.  Save the date: April 22.

But I digress!  Brad's artist statement follows with some photos of his work.  More pieces are currently in our gallery, and several of his pieces have already sold - within DAYS!  Additional photos are viewable on our Facebook Page.

Brad, Hazel, and Baby Eklund

BRAD EKLUND, Woodworker

My passion and love for making sawdust is embedded in my bones and runs back several generations. I am driven by the “unknown-” which is why I am always thrilled to use woods that are unfamiliar to me. I use many species of wood found all over the world. To keep my environmental views in focus, almost every piece of wood used in my work is recycled, reclaimed, or salvaged. I use no stains or dyes just natural oils to bring out the natural beauty of the wood.

My heart lies in the construction of puzzles. I have been obsessed with puzzles of all forms since early childhood. I enjoy them because they are not just art but functional objects that get the gears turning in heads. My wife, Hazel, is a tremendous help in the making of puzzles and other art. It would not be possible without her.