![\"Pigment](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/web-AmyPaul.jpg\")
Paul displayed figurative oil paintings, acrylics on wood, photography, prints and postcards that sported a note to \u201csupport your local artist.\u201d Lauding the work of local artists as well as her own, Paul quickly garnered fans. Ray at Night and North Park Festival of the Arts became common occurrences. Pigment was born.<\/p>\n
Creative to the core, Paul designed vignettes around her wall paintings. Sofas, statement chairs, side-tables and savvy artifacts told a story while resembling a room in one\u2019s own home. Pigment\u2019s success quickly outgrew the 300-square-foot studio. She ventured into sharing a 1,500-square-foot spot on Adams Avenue with a shoe store to no longer sharing the space, then moved to her present 3,000-square-foot industrial showroom located at 3801 30th St.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy with Pigment\u2019s growth and diversity,\u201d Paul said. \u201cAlthough Pigment is a mixed bag of everything, our goal is to support local artists and good design. Some commercial vendors are a necessity, like our glass terrarium containers that come from China, for a particular market, but we stand by supporting everything local.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Pigment grew, so did its collection of art and design. The co-op and commercial merchandise includes fine art, savvy gifts, florals, food, books, furniture, greeting cards, Christmas ornaments, custom and fine jewelry \u2014 even engagement rings \u2014and items for infants, kids, teenagers, dogs and cats. While not everything sold at Pigment stems from local artists, everything commercial maintains an essence of artistry. And Paul remains adamant that there are \u201cno restrictions in what we sell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local talent and vendors are sometimes discovered through friends and neighbors. While always on the hunt, Paul welcomes suggestions from locals, \u201cMy friend makes . . . fill in the blank.\u201d Paul chooses like-minded, entrepreneurial artists and businesses that sell finely-crafted, quality goods. Everything goes through a checklist.<\/p>\n
\u201cItems can\u2019t just look good without being good,\u201d she continued. \u201cWe need both. I don\u2019t want a reputation for just looking nice. I personally test every bath product and food item. Every gift is tested by the Pigment team of artists \u2014 some former students \u2014 and graphic designers. We\u2019re artists, that\u2019s part of what makes us different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merchandise buying is described as treasure hunting. \u201cWe leave no stone unturned,\u201d Paul said. \u201cYou never know where you\u2019re going to find a real gem. Little things crop up everywhere \u2014 showroom catalogs, craft fairs, estate sales, even Etsy. And I love thrift and vintage shopping. Looking for that next great thing is tireless and never-ending.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul\u2019s reputation precedes Pigment\u2019s success. \u201cI buy one card from a company that sells hundreds, if not thousands, of cards,\u201d she said. \u201cSome vendors won\u2019t open up an account for one item, but Pigment has earned its reputation. I have a good business with good sales.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vignettes within the store\u2019s eclectic assortment constantly change. \u201cIf you ask me today what I\u2019ll carry tomorrow, I couldn\u2019t answer,\u201d Paul said. \u201cI create a vignette around products that I love. If a product doesn\u2019t work, we wait. Categories grow as we grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul likened Pigment\u2019s store displays to a painting complete with color, composition, and the elements of design. \u201cThe elements of composition displayed in the store is the same as the imagery displayed in my paintings,\u201d she said. \u201cVignettes tell stories. Stepping into our kids\u2019 section step is like stepping into a story book. Without trivializing or sounding clich\u00e9, the experience has to be artistic and creative.\u201d<\/p>\n The retail playground doesn\u2019t stop at unique sundries and crafted wares. Pigment\u2019s Plant Lab offers a full staff to assist adults and children with building terrariums. Customers are welcome to pull up a chair, \u201cbelly-up,\u201d select a vessel, plants, moss, colored sands, and a rainbow array of rocks to create terrarium masterpieces. While costs are based on materials, customers are not charged for artistic assistance. Plant palettes are seasonal.<\/p>\n \u201cOur plant lab grew from our terrarium artist,\u201d Paul explained. \u201cWe liken our selection for building terrariums to walking into Willy Wonka\u2019s candy shop \u2014 you pick and choose your sweet delight! If you\u2019re creative, you jump right in. If you struggle with artistic decisions, our staff will guide you through the building process. Plants fluctuate based on seasons which makes it even more fun because nothing\u2019s ever the same.\u201d<\/p>\n During Pigment\u2019s early years, Paul\u2019s art remained the store\u2019s backbone. Today, commissioned requests are \u201csqueezed in at the end of the day when I really shouldn\u2019t be working,\u201d she said. \u201cDeadlines are great because they commit me to painting. I\u2019m disciplined but I don\u2019t paint every day the way I used to \u2014 my schedule won\u2019t allow it.\u201d<\/p>\n While Paul gushes over Pigment\u2019s success, she\u2019s quick to credit her husband Chad and their dedicated work tenet.<\/p>\n \u201cChad and I have worked as a team from the beginning,\u201d she said. \u201cFor the first several years he was the sole person on the sales floor. We\u2019ve given Pigment everything and then some. Retail is a tough business that never stops. Although we haven\u2019t made any steadfast decisions, we\u2019re on the precipice of deciding Pigment\u2019s future. Chad\u2019s an advocate for a second and third store while I grapple with the idea. But no matter how we grow, I won\u2019t compromise our integrity. Pigment won\u2019t be a soulless chain store with people saying, \u2018Remember when Pigment was \u2026 ?\u2019 I want to be more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul admits to juggling yet is fond of her roles as wife, mother, artist, teacher and store owner. \u201cI love what I do,\u201d she said. \u201cBut there are times I feel fractured. I\u2019m driven \u2014 I always have been \u2014 to make all ends meet. I want to show my children a strong work ethic; Pigment\u2019s their Candyland. I\u2019m proud of Pigment. I want to remain proud. And I want my vendors to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n Pigment also hosts local artist workshops for calligraphy, dry floral plant crowns, floral wreaths, leather wallets and terrariums. \u201cWorkshops are a natural fit to keep Pigment and its clients close to the community,\u201d Paul concluded. \u201cWorkshop classes bring local artists directly to our customers. North Park embraced Pigment from day one. We owe this community a huge debt for our success. And we\u2019re constantly working to give back to the community in more substantial ways than owning a retail store.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014Contact Lucia Viti at luciaviti@roadrunner.com.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Por Luc\u00eda Viti<\/p>","protected":false},"author":796,"featured_media":251152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Pigment of her imagination","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11550,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-top-stories","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/796"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Pigment](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Pigment2-1-245x300.jpeg\")