Jessie Schoenrock of Rad & Sad Art. Image courtesy of the artist.
St. Charles is in the middle of a business development evolution. Like many up-and-coming cities, the St. Louis suburb has its own business incubator, a space devoted to helping new businesses develop and thrive. Yet its focus isn’t on helping grow tech companies and startups. Instead, the business incubator flourishing in St. Charles centers on the arts.
At The Foundry Art Centre, local artists see and interact with fellow working artists in a way that stirs artistic collaboration and almost demands entrepreneurial spirit. In fact, the Foundry’s studios seem built to promote creating connections to artists. Large, open windows at the front of the building allow the public to see artists at work. Furthermore, each artist studio lease has a clause whereby “we must have our doors open a minimum of 15 hours a week. This is also so the public has a chance to visit with us, watch us work, and ask us questions,” explains Lydia Crespo, Foundry artist and owner of Argaman&Defiance, a design studio located in St. Charles.
However, the inviting atmosphere enables several artists to see each other’s business skills at work too. It turns out the space is a hotbed of activity for entrepreneurial support for artists, representing what art and commerce can accomplish when put together. These are the six businesses inspired by their owner’s time spent at the Foundry Art Centre.
Crafting collections of hand-dyed clothing, Argaman&Defiance is run by fiber artist Lydia Crespo. The beautiful splashes of color seen on the business’ popular sweatshirts and scarves are made using tints obtained responsibly from tree bark, roots, and leaves.
Crespo works out of a studio space located at the Foundry Art Center, and her Argaman&Defiance Collection is now in more than 300 boutiques throughout the U.S., Canada, and the UK. She has also gone on to work with larger brands such as Google, Urban Outfitters, West Elm, and Target. In 2020, she opened a retail shop about half a mile from the Foundry Art Centre called Cozy Shop that supports local artists. Crespo was recently appointed to the St. Charles Tourism Commission as a representative of the Foundry Art Centre and South Main Merchants by the Mayor of St. Charles. She credits the Foundry Art Centre for much of her success. “None of this would have been possible without the exposure to the Foundry Art Centre at such a critical time in my life,” she says.
Courtesy of Lydia Crespo
Zack Smithey Fine Art houses one-of-a-kind luxury functional art, plus furniture, fashion, and murals. Hundreds of the business’ pieces are in the current inventory, but more than 3,000 original pieces can be found in public, private, and corporate collections.
For Smithey, The Foundry Art Centre plays a different role in his fine art business. “I’ve been a full-time professional artist for two decades, and I’ve been at the Foundry for two months,” he says. Smithey is spending his time at The Foundry Art Centre collaborating with the other artists as he works on building a new studio and showroom. “I needed a temporary studio to sustain my business during the transition, and that’s where the Foundry enters the story,” he says. “They were there for me when I needed it.”
A functional, modern ceramics and digital print brand, Rad & Sad Art offers ceramic pieces ranging from creative coffee mugs to vessels for potted plants. Although the brand has also created prints, Rad & Sad Art primarily offers ceramics.
For artist Jessie Schoenrock clay shows both strength and delicacy. “Clay has a willingness to be transformed…but...occasionally throws a big fit about it. This makes clay-work unmistakably human...both rad and sad at the same time,” she muses. Schoenrock was looking for a place to feel connected when she discovered The Foundry. “It’s been so fabulous to be able to knock on the door of a neighboring artist and get some help or feedback,” she says. “Lydia of Argamon&Defiance introduced me to a new way of wholesaling, and my sales went sky-high.”
Courtesy of Jessie Schoenrock
Sue Giannotti's Mosaic Opus Studio uses the old-school method of hand-cut pieces of stone and individually placed Venetian pieces to create original mosaic artwork. The work preserves a millennia-old art form, and clients wanting a unique work flock to the studio's distinctive pieces.
Sue Giannotti. Courtesy of the artist.
Giannotti has been making mosaics for 20 years and has exhibited her art in the U.S. and internationally in Italy, France, and Japan. In addition to selling her original work, she also creates architectural installations for residences, businesses, and places of worship. At the Foundry, she says she connects with a larger group of people and introduces mosaics to a new audience. According to Giannotti, the artists give each other feedback, exchange ideas, and help one another. “While working on a large mosaic project for a synagogue in New York City, I was grateful for the variety of ways so many of the Foundry artists supported me,” she says.
Ann Croghan of Ann Croghan Art uses several layers of transparent glazes of watercolor, acrylic, or pastel to create original abstract paintings inspired by nature and abstract feelings. The effect is a stunning display of beautiful swirling colors that draw in the viewer’s eye.
Croghan has been able to collaborate on projects, exchange ideas, and be challenged in her work, even if that meant stepping outside her comfort zone. Throughout her career, Croghan had made her own color black by mixing several other shades to arrive at a richer hue. “But a fellow artist challenged me to do black and white paintings. Since then, I have created several black and white pieces and incorporated my own version of the black back into my color-rich pieces,” she says. Croghan is currently showing a solo exhibition titled Light and Color in the Ameristar Gallery located on the lower level of the Foundry Art Centre.
"Dawn’s Edge" by Ann Croghan, acrylic on canvas. Image courtesy of the artist.
New Spin On Tradition sells handcrafted ceramics inspired by nature and pattern. The pieces are finished with food-safe glazes and are designed to be a joy to use. Colorful glazes, attention to detail, and good design draws customers to the pieces, which artist Laura Hohn creates in her Foundry studio.
Courtesy of Laura Hohn.
Hohn has been creating art since she was a child. “I always knew I wanted to be an artist,” she says. She started an apprenticeship at the Foundry after graduating from college, and slowly grew into the private studio she has now. Had it not been for the ample space provided at The Foundry, she isn’t sure she would have been able to continue making pottery, “let alone start a business,” she says. At The Foundry she turns to other creative people in the same space for advice. “There’s also an energy that comes from being surrounded by other creative people,” Hohn says. “When you see them making something, you can’t help but want to make something too.”
Foundry Art Centre is located at 520 N. Main Center in St. Charles. It is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday–Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit foundryartcentre.org.
