<< Back 6/12/02 Gallery owners find ways to succeed in Waynesville SMN When Jon and Jamie Bowman opened their downtown Waynesville art gallery known as Deja View four and a half years ago, they couldn’t be certain of how it would all turn out. Small businesses in tourist towns face all kinds of challenges — startup costs, building renovations, rising rent, advertising, supply problems, managing slow and busy seasons, downturns in the economy, finicky customers — you name it. But over the past several years, the Bowmans have quietly built Deja View into one of the most successful galleries in the area with a solid base of quality artists, friendly service and steady sales. At any given time throughout the year, there are about 80 artists with works on display in the gallery — everything from pottery to jewelry to photography to quilts and baskets to hand-blown glass and metal sculpture. With the exception of some jewelers from California, it’s all local and regional independent artists. Some bring in their artwork from Asheville and Brasstown, but a bulk of the artists come from nearby Haywood Community College’s Production and Crafts Department, which supplies a steady stream of marketable artists eager to find a place to sell their work. “We have never solicited for artists; we’ve been fortunate,” Jamie Bowman said, adding that she and Jon encourage incoming artists to take a walk up and down the street to check out different galleries to see where their work might make the best fit. One of the first things you notice about the gallery is the laid back atmosphere. No one enters or exits without a genuine, easy-going greeting. Not the standard pushy sales rush of “Can I help you?” but more of a welcoming “Hey” and a smile for the browsing shopper who more often than not just wants to stroll in and look around. Though the gallery has its share of high-end art pieces — metal sculptures, large framed photographs and delicate accessories — it also has a generous supply of affordable gifts in the $1 to $20 range. That mix of customer service and reasonable prices charms the first-time shopper who will probably want to come back. “That equals repeat business,” Jon Bowman explained, “and that repeat business will get you through the down times like last year.” The Bowmans must be doing something right. Sales are brisk despite the economic slump over the last 18 months, and for the past two years, Deja View has been nominated as one of the top 100 craft retailers in America by NICHE magazine, one of the premier trade publications of the craft industry. Though it’s a nomination and not an actual top 100 selection, what’s especially gratifying for the Bowmans is that artists nominate galleries, so obviously artists are appreciative of how their work is being sold at Deja View. Asheville’s New Morning Gallery and the Grovewood Gallery were selected as a Top 100 Retailers in America by the magazine in 2001, and that notoriety adds a welcome publicity to galleries in the region and Waynesville in particular, according to Jon Bowman. The scenery and the outdoor activities draw people to Western North Carolina, but now it’s also the artwork and the galleries. Waynesville is the kind of place that if you get people to come and check it out for a festival or vacation, they’ll probably want to come back, Bowman added. Business is picking up this time of year. The tourist season is generally from Memorial Day to Labor Day with a dip in September and then leaf season brings on more tourists from October through Christmas. During the slow winter months, the gallery is closed two days a week, which gives the Bowmans time to rest and prepare for the busier time of the year. While Jon markets an award-winning collection of nature photography which he sells as prints and cards, Jamie found a huge demand for her “bobbles,” ornamental wall decorations made with beads, marbles, and wires or test-tubes. The Bowmans both regularly work about 60 to 65 hours a week, which includes in-store time, preparing displays, cleaning the store, adding up sales receipts and all the many odd jobs that go into running a business. But even with the long days — sometimes seven days a week — the two have also come to realize the importance of keeping some perspective between work and family time. “The store is our livelihood,” said Jamie, “but it’s not our life.” You can see it in Jamie’s smile when she chats about a recent movie or when Jon grins about upcoming plans for mountain biking in Utah. It’s that healthy balance they’ve achieved that keeps Deja View Gallery a warm and welcome destination in the downtown Waynesville art district.