Daily Inspiration: Meet Deborah Montgomery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deborah Montgomery.

Hi Deborah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Sterling Creatives was developed by a group of 15 local artists in 2017. It was initially hoped we could develop a creative district, but we soon found that a store front was all we could handle. (Our business did however help with gaining Sterling the Creative District designation later).

Our mission was to develop a space for creative persons to display and sell their works, and offer networking and creative exposure to the community.

Over the years artist members have come and gone, many moving on to develop their own creatives businesses. Most months we offer a First Friday open house featuring one of our artist members whose work is then featured for the entire month. We have developed a little community that faithfully attends!

We have developed workshops for the community, including card making and wood-burning. Artists currently offer weekly paint nights and we are working on a weekly kids class. We have also started offering teas and murder mystery nights too as money makers. We have so much fun with our events!

Along with member artists, we offer visiting artist spots for those who may just want to try it out or don’t have much to display yet.

We are also encouraging art in the community by offering a Community Corner space for artists 1-20 year or 70 & up to display and sell works if they like. Start early and keep going!!

We have artist members who are card-makers, wood workers, oil painters, mixed media, photography, jewelry and more!!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh no…not smooth at all. Just as we were getting traction, Covid hit. Luckily, some funding came our way. With the loss of artists, we have struggled covering hours to keep the store front open, but so far, we have overcome!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Art and woodworking by the Butler’s is our biggest success story. Erin has developed barn-quilt paintings that have taken off and captured the attention of Westbound Arts – art on a train. The couple also creates beautiful wood pieces that are very popular!!

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Facebook is our marketing friend! We also use Canva extensively for designing flyers and Square for our sales. Where would we be without our technology?

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sterlingcreatives/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sterlingcreatives