We were lucky to catch up with Temple Glascock recently and have shared our conversation below.
Temple, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share a customer success story with us?
One of the most exciting aspects of running an art studio space and gallery is getting to witness artists have their big success moments. Over the past year and a half of my time at ClearStory Arts, I’ve seen countless artists jump from theoretical dreamers, to hosting their first market booth, to putting on their first ever solo gallery show, and more.
One of my favorite stories is that of Katie Aronat, from Arrowknot Studios. Over a year ago, Katie visited our First Friday open studios event as a guest, having heard of the event from a friend. Looking to stretch her limbs a little from her background of graphic design, she wanted to find some inspiration amongst the artists. She and I wound up having a long conversation about her hopes and dreams in the space, where she wanted to grow, and what it would take to have her own spot.
She was one of our first community studio Workspace members. While she was carting her things in every day and waiting on us to get lockers for storage, she decided to join our First Friday Mini Market and try out her first market booth. She sold a big piece, and it was game over from there.
Since then, she now has her own studio, laser cutter, and complete visual language in Arrowknot Studios. She was selected to be one of the first artists in the Association for Visual Arts INCubator program, and travels all over the place to show off and sell her beautiful work.
It has been a truly joyous experience getting to see her journey from just starting out to full-blown professional fine artist over the past year, and her story is one of many here in our studios. It’s really something magical to be a part of.
Temple, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Temple Glascock. I am the Director of Operations at ClearStory Arts, located in Chattanooga, TN. We’re home to 40 arts studios, a beautiful clerestory gallery, and a community studio and workspace.
My own background comes from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond VA, where I studied sculpture and fine metalsmithing. Coincidentally, I also have a deep love for software and systems management, so when I first heard of ClearStory Arts, it felt like it was just meant to be. Getting to facilitate artist opportunities and provide so much to local craftspeople and makers is one of the most exciting things I get to do. No day is the same, and being surrounded by so much color and creation here among over 60 artists helps my own creative practice as well.
ClearStory Arts is run on the idea that anyone can be an artist, and every artist should have the space to create and celebrate what they do. Our studios are affordable, and for those not wanting to commit to a studio lease, we have a flexible community Workspace which allows 24/7 access to an empty workbench ready to go. We’ve even partnered with AVA in Chattanooga to allow for further discounted memberships, so we can be as accessible to artists as possible. Even artists who don’t call our space “home” get to join in the fun by participating in group or solo gallery shows. It’s really a phenomenal place to be a part of.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My role is managing an arts business, but this applies to just about every customer-facing role: be honest, kind, genuine, and passionate about your mission. Sometimes it’s hard, and the easy thing is to try and say yes to every single customer, or to shift away from what you excel at to not lose a sale. However, this more often than not results in unhappy customers when you’re unable to deliver on promises, or when they discover you’re maybe not the expert they were expecting. Being honest when you need to turn jobs down, or making expectations clear ahead of time, results in customers returning when you’re ready, telling their friends and family about what you do, and overall having a good experience.
On top of setting honest and clear expectations, being kind and genuine every step of the way is absolutely critical. I do everything I can to not only bring a positive attitude to each customer and tenant, but to really care about their success as individuals, and to do what I can to help. I’m an introvert, so it can be pretty tough to always bring my best self to work, but everyone here knows how important it is to me that they’re treated with as much love and respect as the next person. It sets the tone for our entire community here, and the results continuously show.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
No one – absolutely no one – is truly successful on their own. To actually succeed in this space, I have had to unlearn the idea that I can do it all, to ask (and listen) to feedback, and to ask others for help.
Mary Stargel, the incredible woman who originally provided me with this opportunity, showed me that taking the time to “whiteboard out” the difficulties together was critical for me to find the right answers, and I wouldn’t be here without that. So many of the wonderful artists here have offered their time, advice, and hands when pulling off huge projects, such as our outdoor markets, gallery shows, or even just keeping the community fridge free from science experiments. Just one person and one mind is not enough to see what potential you’ve really got in front of you, and it turns out, almost everyone is willing to help when you ask for it.
Asking for help is okay, and the worst that can happen is that they may not be available to help. Best case scenario, you learn to do something in an entirely new way that shapes your business for the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.clearstoryarts.com
- Instagram: @clearstoryarts
- Facebook: facebook.com/ClearStoryArts
Image Credits
#3: Heather Hughes #4: Kelly Lacy #5: Faith Bullard #8: Lisa Denney