We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ray Ball. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ray below.
Ray, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
Galaray House is an innovative and dynamic art gallery in the heart of Lexington, Massachusetts. Our gallery is designed to bring art, culture, and community together in a fresh and approachable way. Within the gallery is a modern espresso bar creating an atmosphere that captivates the senses and entices the community to appreciate art on a whole new level.
Galaray House is an update on the standard gallery experience. We strive to be a warm and welcoming environment that art and coffee lovers want to keep coming back to.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Ray Ball, and I am one of the co-founders of Galaray House. I own the business with my business partner, Molly Rappoli.
Prior to starting this venture, I was in various marketing roles for about 15 years. I have worked for a variety of industries including physical and cyber security, construction, and design. I have my undergrad degree from the College of the Holy Cross and my MBA from Bentley University.
Molly has her degree from Fairfield University in Studio Arts. After working in galleries and photo studios around New York and Connecticut, she became an early employee at Serendipity Magazine, spearheading the Greenwich Food and Wine Festival. Most recently, she was Editor-in-Chief and Art Direct for Empire City Casino Magazine.
Molly and I both have a fierce love of both art and coffee. One day, we were discussing how difficult it was to enjoy and purchase fine art when it dawned on us–it doesn’t have to be difficult! We started the processing of innovating the gallery experience by creating an upscale, but warm and comfortable, spot for people to bask in the glow of contemporary fine art.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
As we were building our business, we spent a lot of time mindfully planning out our social media strategy. We started by focusing solely on Instagram. The most important aspect, for us, was making sure our posts, stories, reels, etc were in our voice. We spent a lot of time determining who to follow, what to post about, and how often to post. We didn’t want to be that business that posts around the clock. We use Instagram as a hub to share our news and events, new artist info, new pieces, or posts about a great drink we’ve made.
My biggest piece of advice is to stay true to yourself, your voice, and the business you are building.
Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?
Yes! The foundation of our business is built on the idea of multiple revenue streams.
We position ourselves as first and foremost an art gallery. From that, we have revenue from the sale of fine art.
In an effort to innovate the standard gallery experience, we built in an upscale espresso bar fully equipped to sell coffee, lattes, teas, a modest selection of food, etc. From this, we have revenue that is very similar to that of a full cafe.
The espresso bar drives thousands of people every month into the space which helps us get the art in front of art lovers and art buyers alike. The quality coffee brings people back often. The idea is that art lovers (people that love viewing art but don’t buy art) have a dynamic gallery space to always view beautiful works, and coffee lovers have a space to enjoy great coffee that is radically different than a typical cafe.
Contact Info:
- Website: galarayhouse.com
- Instagram: @galarayhouse