GNV art-supply store celebrates anniversary with market

Two men took it upon themselves to support the local art scene when Central Florida Office Plus, a Gainesville arts-and-crafts supply store, closed down in 2014.

Celino Dimitroff approached Charley McWhorter to open a store geared toward art students and the local art community. Six months later, in February 2015, the two opened South Main Art Media Hub, McWhorter said.

This Saturday, SoMA Art Media Hub, located at 601 S. Main St., will celebrate its first anniversary with food, music, vendors and door prizes. The event will be held in the SoMA Art Media Hub parking lot and will last from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Gainesville Arts Market and Gainesville Art Scene will host the event, according to the event page.

The Gainesville Arts Market is held every third Saturday of the month in the SoMA Art Media Hub’s parking lot, McWhorter said. This month, the event will be larger than normal because it’s celebrating the store’s one-year anniversary.

McWhorter and Dimitroff wanted to create a store catered to artists because they are both artists themselves. McWhorter said the store’s atmosphere was created to be open, well-lit and to have materials easily viewable from all areas.

The store has seen its ups and downs during this first year, but began to see growth once they began marketing to the local clientele.

“We’ve had a lot of great things happen to us as a small business,” McWhorter said.

The partnership between the Gainesville Arts Market and SoMA Art Media Hub has worked well for the store, he said.

“A lot of new artists come, and people discover us and people discover the market,” he said. “It’s a win-win for both of us.”

Txong Moua, the director of the Gainesville Art Scene, created the Gainesville Art Scene as a blog in 2014, and it evolved into the Gainesville Arts Market.

The blog was started to offer a central location of creative events happening in Gainesville, the 32-year-old said.

“I didn’t see anything like that when I started it,” Moua said. “So, I think, since then, there has been a lot more things happening around town. So, that’s good.”

She said she offers a directory for local artists to join and features a local artist every month on her blog. She initially started the blog with a question-and-answer interview format with local artists.

The blog eventually developed into the market because a common theme among local artists was trying to find a place to sell their work, she said.

Moua said the market offers all types of art, including paintings, food, jewelry and crafts.

Violeta Lizama, a 25-year-old Gainesville resident, is one of the artists who will be displaying her art at this month’s Gainesville Art Market. Lizama said she creates handmade clay ornaments and jewelry under her Purple Star Clayations business.

She works with polymer clay to create small works of art, which she said are distinguishable by their small size and her attention to detail.

Lizama’s creations typically sell between $3 and $10. However, she said she can create custom pieces, which have sold for up to $60.

Lizama will be premiering her art at the market this Saturday. She said she also sells her pieces online, but there is a high level of competition within that market. She hopes to reach more customers, especially in Gainesville, by showing her pieces at the Gainesville Arts Market.

“It’s easier to get the word out if people can see what you can do,” Lizama said.