Village works by working together

Since setting up shop a year ago at 3230 N. Dodge Blvd., this cooperative of artists and designers has thumbed its nose at the deep recession.

Thanks to their tight-knit community, a natural sharing of business, and a philosophy of helping each other, the artists at MAV are surviving the economic downturn. And now many more want in on the action.

In one tenant's words, "There are tons of places available for rent, but there's a line out the door for this one."

Yet, Lynn Rae Lowe, one of the village's founding members, shrugs this off. "I don't think there's any pride in saying we have a waiting list and show that we're cool. I think the pride is in seeing everybody so happy," she says.

Owner, developer and member Stephen Kimble, an attorney who is winding down his law practice to concentrate on his love of welding, has been picky about whom he invites to lease the space.

His rules are that business profiles shouldn't overlap and that personalities should click. "I'm here every day. I want to be around people I don't have to duck from."

Each artist has his or her own space in studios made out of metal that Kimble helped build. Most of them have garage-style doors at the back and backyard spaces; many have upstairs space too.

Tenants are in and out of each other's work spaces, asking for a hand in welding a tough piece or collaborating over a piece of work - a heavy-duty gate with metal and stained glass, for example.

They're also going out to dinner and lunch together, organizing community events and drinking coffee at Spill the Beanz, owned by Andrea Islas, who runs Appaloosa Fine Furniture and Cabinetry next door.

Today, we meet a few of the artists in the village everyone's talking about.

'We cut each other breaks'

The Metal Arts Village is a cooperative but not in any business sense, says April Stone.

They all lease space from Stephen Kimble (in Stone's case, she sublets from tenant Mark Wallis) but there is no sharing of costs or profits.

"We cut each other breaks with cost," says Stone. "And if one of us gets a job where you can use other people in the cooperative, that's going to be the first person they'll choose."

Stone moved here in June from Missouri. "Things have really taken off," she says of the metal sconces she sells.

'It's allowing me to stretch creatively'

Collaboration with the others is stretching Genia Parker's own creativity. The owner of Ochoa Stained Glass worked with Lynn Rae Lowe and Everett Grondin on an award-winning metal and glass headboard.

"I'm surrounded by artists who are doing similar things. I'm actually creating glass elements and sculpture for other artists, which is allowing me to stretch creatively in ways that on my own I wouldn't have any need to," she says.

How it all began

Insurance defense attorney Stephen Kimble had a dream of setting up a village of artists.

Then he successfully sued the maker of a Spider-Man toy over a Spider-Man gadget that shoots webs from the wrist. Kimble said the toy maker rejected his invention, then launched its own toy based on Kimble's.

And with a royalty deal and settlement from Marvel Entertainment, now owner of the brand, his dream came true.

The Metal Arts Village is set on just under an acre of what was formerly an empty lot, near North Dodge Boulevard and East Fort Lowell Road. After two years of construction, it opened in January 2010 and now houses 10 artists, a furniture store and two designers.

From a two-story studio and office that houses his own Art Inc., Kimble makes large-scale metal sculptures.

He says he is in informal talks with two other groups of artists over similar projects, one in Santa Fe and one in Sedona.

"I think it's a workable deal. Everybody wants the arts but there's no money from arts and no grants." This way, he says, artists boost and help each other's business.

'The walk-in business has kept me alive'

Everett Grondin, owner of Dog Lix Designs, used to do gates and other metal work for seven or eight custom homes a year. Now he's lucky if he gets one of those large jobs annually.

"The advantage here is you get a lot of walk-in business, and the walk-in business has kept me alive," he says.

They may be smaller jobs, or repairs, but they keep him going. Added to that, he collaborated with fellow villagers Lynn Rae Lowe and Genia Parker over a headboard design that won an award in the recent Arizona Society of Interior Designers' local design-excellence awards.

'It's not just fun for me, but for my clients'

Landscape designers Diana Turner of Turner Design and Kathryn Prideaux of Prideaux Design were late additions to the mix, after Kimble decided having design professionals here was a bonus.

Prideaux says she had been interested in using the artists' work for her clients, and when she saw the space she was sold.

She needed more exposure for her business, and being in the thick of an arts community where visitors can walk in and visit studios does that, she says.

Says Turner: "It's not just fun for me to collaborate, but my clients really love meeting the craftspeople." The artists can present ideas directly to homeowners, and homeowners can see the rest of their work, says Turner.

Stop by Metal Arts Village

• Where to find it: 3230 N. Dodge Blvd., just north of East Fort Lowell Road

• When to go: The studios are open to all, there aren't regular business hours. Your best bet is to attend the regular Full Moon event (the next is Feb. 18, 5-8 p.m.), and first Saturday artist demonstrations from 1-4 p.m. For more information, visit The Metal Arts Village Tucson on Facebook.

And don't miss this

At the back of Lynn Rae Lowe Metal Arts Gallery, there's a mini junk yard where customers can rummage through Lowe's off-cuts and make their own piece of art.

She also sells her "drops" - the tall steel frames left after she has cut out shapes for her art. For around $200, customers get an original structure that can function as a screen or an art piece in itself.

"I think the pride is in seeing everybody so happy."

Lynn Rae Lowe,

metal artist

Contact Gillian Drummond at gcdrummond@aol.com or visit her blog at www.homeisafourletterword.com