Downtown Springfield’s Fresh Gallery has new owners and a new business plan, including getting rid of its nonprofit status as the gallery explores commercial revenue streams.
Fresh Gallery, which was founded in 2009 and located at 401 N. Boonville Ave., was slated to close its doors permanently after a 15-year run as a downtown arts institution, according to previous Springfield Daily Citizen reporting.
That was until Jennifer Hyde serendipitously stepped in.
“One Saturday afternoon I took a wrong turn and I ended up in front of this place and the open sign was on,” Hyde said in an interview at the gallery Nov. 11. That’s when “we learned that it was closing.”
Hyde and her business partner, FranQue Graham, decided to purchase the gallery as their next commercial enterprise. Fresh Gallery was a fiscal agency of the Springfield Regional Arts Council. When Hyde closed on the purchase at the end of October, the gallery was transformed from a nonprofit entity to a for-profit business.
Fresh Gallery to explore more commercial revenue streams
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Hyde declined to disclose the financial terms of the purchase. The business co-owner signed a five-year lease on the space and 16 featured artists decided to stay members of the gallery under the new ownership, Hyde said.
“The artists are incredibly talented and they make some great stuff,” Hyde said. “So, holding them together and keeping them together was extremely important to me.”
The new owner’s first move is to explore more commercial revenue streams, like art classes and private events, on top of the art sales. Hyde’s new role as gallery owner is to oversee business operations for all members of Fresh Gallery.
“We’re basically acting as business managers for this group of artists and helping them get their numbers where they want them,” Hyde said.
Two business partners bring fresh perspective to Springfield gallery
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The co-owners will handle different tasks, Hyde said. Graham, who lives in Arkansas and Texas, will work directly with the artists, and Hyde will manage the building day to day.
Hyde, who was raised in Rogersville, has been an entrepreneur for more than 30 years, having owned and operated multiple beauty salons in Missouri and Texas, she said. She moved back to the Ozarks in 2021 to be closer to family.
Graham earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Dallas. The business partners have managed artist showcases in Dallas, Texas, and Hot Springs, Arkansas.
“When I talked to the artists, they just want to make art and have people come enjoy it and take it home with them and love it,” Hyde said. “So, I’m here to help make sure they get to continue to do that.”
The property that houses the gallery, a 12,515 square-foot space located at 401-413 N. Boonville Ave., is owned by Nick Sibley, according to the Greene County Tax Assessor’s Office records. The entire property was appraised at $413,600.
Hyde said she owns a property on historic Commercial Street, which she rehabbed. She has tentative plans to convert the building, located at 1100 E. Commercial St., into working artist studios. The 6,585 square-foot building was purchased in July 2022 and was appraised at $95,800, according to the Greene County Tax Assessor’s Office records.
Owners plan to increase Fresh Gallery’s online presence, bring in new artists
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Some of the first changes to Fresh Gallery will be an updated website with online sales, Hyde said.
Fresh Gallery owners “really want to get things computerized,” Hyde said. “We want to get (the artists) a better presence online. We even want to formulate selling online for them.”
A better website with online sales will first require a build out of an inventory-tracking software for Fresh Gallery.
“We’ve got a lot to inventory right now,” Hyde said. “Most of the artists have anywhere from 30 to 50 pieces in here and they haven’t really had a system for tracking or any of that stuff. So, that part we’re kind of building from scratch.”
As part of Fresh Gallery’s previous business model, member artists paid dues to help with the costs of running the gallery. Also, a portion of each sale helped cover operating expenses at Fresh Gallery, Hyde said.
“The way that they were operating previously was that each of them contributed a certain dollar amount for their wall space and that dollar amount went towards overhead,” Hyde said.
The revamped Fresh Gallery is “still examining what the balance needs to be,” she said.
The 16 member artists are all based in the Ozarks, with more than half based in Springfield, Hyde said. Fresh Gallery features all types of artists, including ceramics, woodworking, wood sculpture and glass. The business co-owners have a plan to grow.
“We’ll be bringing in new artists” and “inviting new energy into the space,” Hyde said.
