We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leslie Lovell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Leslie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Often life presents opportunities that were not on your radar. It seems to happen when you put things out in the universe and are open to answers or suggestions. I believe that is what has led my journey in life and certainly to open Roots Up Gallery.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hi, I’m Leslie Lovell originally from North Carolina now living in Savannah for over 13 years. I partially grew up on a farm when I was young which is where my sister and I had the pleasure of running free and working the summers barning tobacco. I didn’t realize it then, but I believe that is where my work ethic was instilled. I went to a very small boarding school, 23 in my graduating class, followed by my first two years of college in the mountains of North Carolina. After choosing my direction I transferred to the University of Alabama graduating with a major in communications.

Where my career started and where it is today seem like they are miles apart, but there are a lot of stepping stones that have bridged the gap with a wonderful foundation. I was fortunate enough to have worked with ad agencies in London, New Orleans, and Boston as a media planner and later a director. I was not creative, but I wanted to be. Any break I got I would hang out in the creative department absorbing everything. Watching the right side of the brain at work was magic, and in an instant, the cogs turned, and their left side kicked in for the layout work. At that point everything was done by hand and precision was a must. Layouts were done, masks were made for various layers of printing, and the copy came in from the typesetters. There was very little room for error.

Many years later I returned to Charlotte, NC, married, and went in-house with a textile company handling their marketing and advertising. Here I finally got the chance to cross over to the creative side with the advent of layout software in the late 80s. The skillset I learned along the way has given me the ability to work for myself starting in 1991. I started to freelance in graphic design and created an advertising service called ‘The Silent Concierge’ working with hotels and associations to promote ‘where to dine and things to do in Charlotte. Since 2004 I’ve been a freelance team member for trend and color forecasting with a global company for consumer packaging. Thankfully we have always worked remotely because our team members are within the U.S. and abroad.

Life’s journey brought my late husband, Francis Allen, and me to Savannah, via Mexico, in 2009. He had sold his business and wanted to live abroad so we started looking at different areas with a focus on Mexico. After selling the house and closing my business, fate intervened, and we chose to spend three months in Savannah before leaving for Mexico. At that point Savannah chose us. I’m not kidding, I was riding my bike through the Historic District, and it felt like this house literally kicked me. I glanced back and saw the for-sale sign and that clinched the deal. Within three weeks we closed and made Savannah our home.

Have you ever had to pivot?

By this juncture, my direction had become twofold. First was my focus on learning and growing in the art direction. Years before I threw myself into the DIY phase from faux painting to hand-spreading concrete to inlay marbles in the patio. A friend said he half expected to see 50 pounds of clay on the table one day. His prediction did come true years later when I took an introductory class in pottery. I fell in love and now have my own kiln. I also explored many different art forms and I also favor photography, mixed media, and painting with oil and cold wax. The combo of these mediums can be so expressive building through layers until you arrive at your destination.

Secondly, Francis and I had a penchant for outsider art, which is artists who had no formal training. The legacy artists, who were the first to be discovered, did not know they were artists, but they had a need to create. Sometimes to escape a debilitating injury, poverty, mental illness, and some to deal with social issues. They used whatever was at hand. Some used paper and markers, others tin, wood, house paint, bottle caps, wire, and even mud mixed with sugar to be used as paint. Their lives are their bios and artist statements.

So, in 2014 we opened Roots Up Gallery, named so because our artists embody an innate soulfulness from within. The gallery features outsider art, which is an umbrella that includes Southern folk, visionary, naive, and primitive art. It is a gallery that is approachable, tells the stories of our artists, and offers contemporary self-taught artists a place to be represented. We also have some trained artists whose work is as soulful as the outsiders.

My building blocks along the way made our startup less painful. Two people who have worked for themselves, and have a calling to share what they love, can bring a lot to the table. For me, it was the ability to handle numerous roles such as promotional materials, press releases, printing, photography, and the website. Essential services that are very costly.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Starting the gallery was such a fun and exciting time. Searching for artists, building a reputation, having artists find us. But as things are not always in our control, we were dealt a terrible twist of fate. Francis became ill nine months after we opened the gallery and succumbed to cancer in August 2017. At the exact same time, our landlord sold the building and refused to honor the three-year lease I had just signed. I had a legal right, but the landlord ripped the heart and soul out of the space, so I turned on my heels and moved the gallery to The Downtown Design District. It was almost like a parting gift from Francis to keep me extraordinarily busy. With one door closing, another one opens with Chapter II of the gallery.

The new space was in a wonderful location in the heart of the historic district surrounded by locally owned businesses. And like so many businesses, we were growing and becoming more established until Covid hit in 2020. Ironically, I had curated a three-woman show scheduled to open that March called Still Standing: The Resiliency of Humans and Nature. How fortuitous!

This idea came to me as Hurricane Dorian was coming through Savannah in 2019. I was watching the eye of the storm passing over my bedroom porch and was struck with the idea of six paintings portraying the resiliency of humans and nature surviving such devasting acts by Mother Nature. I asked two other local artists, Carmen Aguirre and Kim Corcoran, to join me in sharing their interpretations of resiliency. Due to Covid, we launched the opening online via video with each artist sharing their work and thoughts. It was cathartic for us and enlightening for viewers because they were able to see and hear our interpretations of the different pieces.

With another pivot, the page turns to Chapter III of the gallery. As a sole proprietor, I was very concerned by April with all the unknowns caused by the pandemic, I chose to close the physical location and remain online on May 1, 2020, the day of our sixth anniversary.

During that time my focus was to clean up the website and get more work online which was doing well. Moving into the next year I was looking for a space to house a second show with SCAD alum Christine Sajecki & artist Michael Henderson called You Lift Me Up: A fairy tale love story that transcends death and distance. One location I looked at was in an old cotton warehouse on W. Bay Street where Chapter IV begins with being offered space for Roots Up Gallery. I thought it to be a wonderful opportunity and moved forward opening in October and holding the show in November.

Like the Soap Opera, As the World Turns, we are currently moving into an exciting new phase for myself and Roots Up Gallery by joining Southern Pine Company. Owner, Ramsey Khalidi, a great supporter of the arts, is creating a unique environment for many artist types. The space itself is a piece of art with a great vibe that offers a new perspective making this chapter feel charged with inspiring possibilities. The universe still listens, even when you’re not sure you were speaking out loud.

Contact Info:

• Website: rootsupgallery.com
• Instagram: @rootsupgallery2
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootsupgallery
• Linkedin: Leslie Lovell
• Twitter: @rootsupgallery2
• Youtube: @leslielovell6492
• Other: instagram @leslielovellartworks

Image Credits
Photographs provided by Roots Up Gallery.