We were lucky to catch up with Randy & Lisa Lee recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Randy & Lisa , thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Biggest risk we recently took was opening our own gallery/shop in a local, small town in what is essentially a farming community. It was not a part of our vision for 2021, but a chance meeting and a deal to good to pass up made us say- what the heck, why not? We opened the doors just 5 weeks after signing the lease. We knew it was a risk because of the location, so we made sure to be careful not to invest too much in case we ever needed to close. We took on 90% of the artists on consignment, with just a few wholesale accounts in order to keep overhead costs down. When we opened our gallery there were 3 other vintage/antique shops in town, making it a great destination for treasure hunters. Since we use reclaimed items in our framing, selling small kitchsy vintage items blended well into the art we carried. It is truly an eclectic space filled with items we love allowing us to showcase our love of things handmade and intriguing treasures of yesteryear. We soon added the offering of classes, such as fused glass, weaving and paint & sips. We were very proud of what we had curated and things were good!
January of 2023 saw the sudden closure of several businesses. The biggest hit was a very well known destination restaurant right across the street from us. Their clientele was our clientele and having them close suddenly was a big ole punch to the gut. Foot traffic and art sales dropped, a worsening ecomony and a couple months later the closure of a few more shops, made us a wee bit nervous to say the least. It’s hard to be a destination town with so few businesses to support that title. By April, six main street shops had closed their doors.
During the two years we were open, we sat on committees and got involved in trying to elicit positive change for small business owners and chip away at antiquated thinking about retail in a small town, with unfortunately little results. Trying to run two small businesses was wearing on us and something had to give. The quote, “Never half-ass two things. Whole ass one thing.” (Ron Swanson) rang true and we knew we needed to let one go. With mounting worries about the future and frustration with politics, the decision was made to close our shop and return to a clear focus on just our personal art.
It was a two year experience that we look back on with pride, we did what many thought we couldn’t do. We brought a cool shop to a small town. We provided a space for learning. In those two years we learned how much work there really is behind the scenes of a brick and mortar, it’s exhausting. We learned the rollercoaster ups and downs of retail. We made new friends. Surprisingly, what also happened in those two years was the fine tuning of our own art. Finding the right shows, the right galleries and figuring out what images sell best and represent who we are now. I’m not sure if that would have happened if we had not had our own gallery? Hard to know. However, we do know that just because we chose to close, does not mean it was unsuccessful, although it’s very hard for people to understand that. On June 11th, we closed our doors for good and we have no regrets.
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?
We reside in the rural landscape of NW, WI along with our 3 dogs, 6 cats, 3 cows and small flock of chickens. We met in 2015. Randy was a professional portrait and wedding photographer, Lisa an ex-college Art Major drop out looking for a creative outlet. The timing was meant to be as we were each making changes in our lives and looking to do something that would fill us up and also allow us the freedom to be our own bosses. After putting our creative minds together, we joined forces and started showing together at juried Fine Art Fairs in 2016 as Images By Lee Art and then eventually changing our name to Tin Cat Studio as the art changed and grew into what it is now.
We are photographers who favor images that are simple in nature, yet meant to provoke feelings, emotions, and fond memories. Different camera work, editing techniques and textures are used to help bring forth this moody style. All images are edited with an encaustic layer in mind that is physically fused to the images before framing. This adds even more texture, depth and added interest to the overall image. Reclaimed and salvaged materials are then used to not only frame the images, but to create a piece of art. What can seem like an ugly, but worn mess becomes something of reborn beauty, the meeting of old to new. The patina and aged charm of the wood and metal, the textures, bubbles, and unknown ways of the wax makes each piece truly unique and a one-of-a-kind work of art.
Our work can be found at galleries in WI and MN and is sold online exclusively through Plum Bottom Gallery in Door Co. We participate in a handful of Fine Art Shows throughout the year, all of which can be found on our website.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
This is an easy one! The most rewarding thing for us is to have people connect with our work. It feels so good to have someone walk in your gallery/art tent and say, “WOW! This is so cool.” “I’ve never seen anything like it.” To get tears in their eyes because an image reminds them of their grandparents and the summers spent on the farm. We recently had a person share on our social media the chance purchase of one of our pieces. She walked into a gallery to ask a question and when she saw the piece, it immediately reminded her of a loved one who recently passed away. She had no intention of buying art that day, but that piece of art went home with her. It’s stories like that, that just make us so happy to be able to touch hearts and bring back good memories of a time or place in people’s lives. It’s the main reason we continue to do shows, to be able to connect with people and their stories is what fills our hearts and gets us fueled up to go home and continue to create.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
The best move we made on social media was to show our more human & personal side, that we are just regular people trying to make cool art. We share our lives with them. The good times, the hard times, funny stories, our love of animals and nature. It makes people connect with us and that is so important. It helps find your audience. People are generally more willing to share your content or buy your work if they think of you as a friend. But in our case, we really do think of our audience as our friends and we really do care about them and their experiences. We love to hear their stories after we tell one they can relate too. Don’t be afraid to show your face and connect via social media, it really makes a difference. 
Contact Info:
- Website: TinCatStudio.com
- Instagram: TinCatStudio
- Facebook: TinCatStudio
Image Credits
Images by Tin Cat Studio and Chad Hoag Photography