Peter Rossing Photo by Rosemary Ragusa

Portland has a unique arts community; it is diverse, wide open and very different from other cities. The city supports the performing and visual arts, and in this column I plan to touch base with the people who keep our arts community lively and diverse.

Recently I sat down to have a conversation with Peter Rossing, the owner of Muse Art & Design, the art supply store at 4224 S. E. Hawthorne. Peter is an entrepreneur and supporter of the arts in Portland. His career path has taken him from theatrical set design to general manager of the Portland Repertory Theater, and then to freelance graphic design, specializing in corporate events. It was a high-pressure environment, which Peter enjoyed, but didn’t find fulfilling. It did offer him and opportunity to exercise his organizational skills, and his love of pulling together many elements to create a cohesive end product. Somehow, Peter knew that there was something else that he wanted to do, but he wasn’t exactly sure what it was.

Then, one February morning, as these things will do, a clear vision of his future presented itself to Peter. He decided to open what is now Muse Art & Design. Art materials seemed like a natural fit for him given his background in graphic design, and there was room in Portland for a store selling quality artists supplies.

Opening new retail business in the space of under 10 months was a challenge, but Peter was up to it. He began by becoming a member of the National Art Materials Trade Association, an organization that supports retailers in the field. He went to their spring trade show and received a warm welcome from the members. They were eager to share information about the ins and outs of building a successful business. In addition, the vendors at the show were more than happy to schedule meetings with him to discuss their products. It was a positive experience that reinforced his decision to open the store.

Peter says that the two most difficult aspects of creating the business were finding a suitable space and creating a business plan. He knew that he wanted a space of about 1000 square feet, and that his preference was a location near his home in southeast Portland. Other than finding the right space and the right price, the biggest challenge was finding a space that was close to move-in ready. He finally found a space on S E Hawthorne near 42nd that was, though a bit smaller than he wanted, available and the move-in date met his timetable.

Peter shared with me the fact that creating his business plan was his most difficult challenge. He began trying to create a plan that would answer all of the potential questions that a lender might ask. Trying to anticipate all of those questions, and attempting to figure out what would please this unknown lender was truly daunting. Finally, Peter took deep breath and decided to write a plan for himself, and everything fell into place. This is a lesson that he has carried forward as the business has grown, and it is a piece of advice that his is more than willing to share with his artist customers.

Muse Art & Design, opened in November of 2004, and has become a welcoming place for serious artists as well as Sunday afternoon painters. Peter had a concept right from the start that he wanted to create a store with an atmosphere unlike most other art supply stores. Peter and his partner, Brian built all of the fixtures themselves, installed the halogen track lighting, and created the kind of visually appealing space that the former set designer had in mind. The store is easy to navigate, and the products are well displayed.

The idea of excellent service was foremost in Peter’s mind when he was planning the store. Peter and his employees are very helpful and knowledgeable about the products they sell, and are willing to share their expertise. They are also willing to go the extra mile for special orders, checking out suppliers on the internet and finding the best product. Peter’s philosophy about stocking products involves doing extensive research and then stocking the best quality at several price levels. So, they carry excellent quality materials that are appropriate for the most experienced artist and the novice as well. This may well explain the fact that Peter’s store has weathered the economic downturn very well, with his year on year sales continually improving.

In addition to investing in traditional advertising, Peter has taken advantage of exposure on the web to promote the store. The constantly evolving Muse Art & Design web site, www.museartanddesign.com, will soon have a more detailed description of the products they stock, and in the near future and additional web site, www.encausticsupplies.com, will be a one-stop shopping resource for all the encaustic supplies you might need.

Peter supports the Portland art scene in other ways. He sits on the board of Bouand Dance Company, a contemporary ballet company lead by artistic director Alex Ballard. He uses the store to support local visual artists by displaying their work. Peter shared with me how much he enjoys seeing artists blossom and gain confidence by having their work displayed and appreciated. As he said to me, “I have had the experience of seeing an artist who had just been painting for herself, and who was too shy to share her work with others, becoming confident enough to call herself an artist, after hanging her work in the store.” It is clear from the look on his face that he finds that part of his work extremely fulfilling.

April brings the second annual An Artist-a-Day event at Muse Art & Design in which every day in April a different artist will be in the store creating a work in the medium of their choice. All of the work will be on display in the store, and will be available for a silent auction in early May, the proceeds of which benefit Schoolhouse Supplies. Last year the event raised more than $3,000 dollars, which purchased art supplies for the Portland Public Schools. Details about the event and to read the daily blogs about the artists, visit www.anartistaday.com.

Peter feels that the core strength of the Portland art scene is the ability of artists to get their work out and seen. There are so many venues for work to be displayed; coffee shops, restaurants, retail spaces are all eager to show the work of local artists. This independent scene does lack cohesion, but it also creates an atmosphere that allows the work of all kinds of creatives to be seen, and creates an environment that encourages artists to explore non-traditional outlets for their work. Peter has observed that most of the working artists he knows make their living through internet sites such as Etsy and Ebay, as well as through networking and by coming to the attention of collectors. The traditional path of depending on galleries to display and sell work is not necessary in the wide open atmosphere here in Portland.

I think that Peter’s message to us Portland artists is the one that made him move forward with the store; do it for yourself. Find your vision, believe in it, do the work and put it out there.

Muse Art & Supply
Monday-Saturday 11am-6pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm
4224 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR 97215-3161
(503) 231-8704