Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Judith Zehmke. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Judith , thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Art House was formed in 2009 a few years after I moved to Charlotte. I worked for an art collector, Thurston Twigg-Smith, when I lived in Honolulu, Hawaii. When I moved back to the mainland, I was frustrated that I had hundreds of dollars to spend on original art and nowhere to spend it. You could either shop in an antique store (don’t get my wrong, I love vintage art), or you could spend thousands. I only had hundreds and wanted to invest in original artwork. I decided I would create a space for people like me to purchase original artwork for hundreds of dollars. I started with one artist and soon realized there was a good-sized market for original, affordable art.

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.

My background is in sales and marketing, but while living in Hawaii, I had the opportunity to work for Thurston Twigg-Smith. He was a descendant of one of the original missionary families in Hawaii and he founded The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu (now called Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House). As his assistant, I was responsible for helping with curations and events at the museum. I also worked in his home in Diamond Head and that was like a museum, in an of itself. At the time, my tastes were less contemporary than his curations, but I found that I was very drawn to impressionism and figurative art. This footnote in my employment history was the catalyst that started this journey for me. When I moved back to the mainland, I could not find any art that was affordable for someone like me. That frustrated me to no end, but I didn’t start my business until I moved to Charlotte, NC. I decided that I would sell original art at affordable prices. I understand that ‘affordable’ is a relative term. Our prices start at about $100 and stop at $3000. I’ve been doing this for 15 years and my pricing has always been the same. We have had many amazing artists come and go throughout the years, but regardless of the artists we represent and the art we sell, that’s our price range and we are true to it. For the last 8 years, I have had the distinct honor of working with the best marketing director in the world, Jennifer Branham, and without her, Art House would not be nearly as successful as it is. I am grateful for her caring and her big brain every day!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

In the art world, it can be difficult to find a place that doesn’t feel stuffy and a bit intimidating. Walking into a gallery is not for everyone and we understand that. We have tapped into a sizeable market of people who are interested in acquiring original, affordable, local artwork, but would never step foot into a gallery. Art House Charlotte is located in my home (in the formal living and dining room of my groovy 1969 ranch) and that’s where we take appointments and sell the art. It’s casual. We are not fancy and we create a space that smells good (it matters) and is approachable for everyone from a mom in yoga pants who is coming straight from the gym to a husband on a mission to buy a gift for his wife for their anniversary. We also have forged some fantastic relationships with both commercial and residential designers. We offer the best possible art to our clients at a good value and we are nice. We pride ourselves on helping people navigate the process of purchasing original artwork and we enjoy what we do, so we have fun with the process.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

About 8 years into Art House Charlotte, we hit a speed bump. We were rebranding and going through a bit of personal and professional rebirth. Perhaps distracted by the personal rebirth, I found myself not paying close enough attention to the people around me. Suffice it to say, I ended up in a legal battle.  After hiring two different attorneys and spending thousands of dollars, I ended up winning the battle. What I learned from that experience is that while I thought Art House Charlotte was secure and all of my ducks were in a row, I was not proactively doing enough to protect my business. My lawyer let me know it was time to get contracts and controls in place and to make sure that everything was ironclad. Up to that point in my life, I hadn’t been in a situation that would require contracts, controls and legal counsel. I thought my intuition and spidey senses were spot on and I was more than capable of making a sound character assessment. In this instance, the distraction in my personal life led to a failure in attention and / or intuition and it cost me. That being said, with some stellar legal counsel and swift public relations and marketing responses, we got through it.  The lessons I learned and the benefit to my business in the end were a net positive. As an entrepreneur, you spend time strategizing about marketing and advertising and how to capitalize on trends in the marketplace. You prepare yourself financially for down weeks and months and are always adapting to new challenges. You aren’t necessarily preparing for a legal showdown. My ducks are now very much in a row and my business is safe guarded. I would recommend other small business owners and entrepreneurs do the same.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.arthousecharlotte.com
• Instagram: @arthousecharlotte
• Facebook: Art House Charlotte

Image Credits
Photography by Nan Gray Gray + Howard Studio, Charlotte, NC