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

Peggy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Townsend Atelier is an independent art school and materials store dedicated to excellence. Our art classes and workshops are modeled after the atelier method where professional, working artists pass down their tremendous skill sets to students of ages and artistic abilities.

My husband, Stan, and I founded Townsend Atelier in 2009 out of a desire to fill a void in the Chattanooga region by providing high-quality and meaningful art instruction taught by professional, working artists from all over the world. Both of us have been deeply involved in the arts and culture scene in Chattanooga for decades and have always believed that our city is positioned both culturally and geographically as an important arts center.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Townsend Atelier is an independent art school, gallery, and materials store dedicated to excellence. Our art classes and workshops are modeled after the atelier method where professional, working artists pass down their tremendous skill sets to students of ages and artistic abilities. We have 4,000 square feet of wonderful airy and light-filled studio space and a retail art materials store in the heart of Chattanooga, TN in the Arts Building.

My husband, Stan, and I founded Townsend Atelier in 2009 out of a desire to fill a void in the Chattanooga region by providing high-quality and meaningful art instruction taught by professional, working artists from all over the world. Both of us have been deeply involved in the arts and culture scene in Chattanooga for decades and have always believed that our city is positioned both culturally and geographically as an important arts center.

Townsend Atelier has provided this method of art instruction in Chattanooga since 2009. Taught by professional working artists, we offer classes and workshops year- round in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and a weekly figure-drawing studio. Our students are adults of all ages, high school students, art teachers, and professional artists. While our core student base is local, we also attract students from states like Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California and as far away as Hawaii and Canada.

We have built a strong and loyal student and instructor base and a reputation for quality instruction. We are creating a community of learning and sharing and contribute to economic impact of the arts in Chattanooga. We provide a mechanism to retain and nurture our city’s professional artists by giving them teaching opportunities and a means to study and share ideas with peers in their own field. We provide a place where people of all skill levels can pursue their interest in making art.

Our students are art teachers who wish to learn a new skill to take back to their own classroom. Our students are retirees who have always wanted to pursue art but are now enjoying the opportunity to do so. Our students are art majors at universities who wish to augment their studies. Our students are high school youth who are building a portfolio for college. Our students are professional artists who want to grow and to share ideas with others in their field.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

We cannot be asked about pivoting without immediately thinking about 2020 and Covid-19. Like so many small businesses, we had to shut down completely. We began offering curbside pick-up and more shipping options for our retail store. However, not being able to have workshops and classes, which is the bulk of our business, was devastating. Thankfully, we did get some rent relief, so we were able to buy some time while figuring out a plan for survival. We began to offer classes, workshops and other programs on ZOOM. After the initial learning curve of managing cameras, audio, and general zoom room management, we got pretty good at it and really enjoyed it! Our student base immediately opened up to include students from all of the world and we were able to record the classes for the students which typically does not occur in an in-person class. It was not unusual for me to be running the class from my office in Chattanooga, have our instructor in another country or city and then students from every corner of the world. White we have returned to in-person classes, are still offering a few on-line programs during the year because we enjoy it, it works well, and we have built an international audience that is able to study with some of our instructors from afar.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

From the beginning, our vision and mission have been to offer high quality art classes, workshops and materials to anyone wishing to develop their artist skills in a welcoming environment. We have been very intentional about adhering to this original vision and quality art instruction with the best professional artists is now what we are known for. Since doing this for over 13 years, we have repeat students and instructors that come back time and time again. We have built a strong and loyal student and instructor base and have a reputation for quality instruction and southern hospitality. In addition, the world in which we operate is small one and peers, other artists, and clients talk to each other. Although we actively market our business, word of mouth has been a huge piece of helping us to build our reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.townsendatelier.com
• Instagram: townsend_atelier
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/artchattanooga

Image Credits
Photo credit Townsend Atelier