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It has been a goal of ours for some time to make ARTpool a full-time enterprise for both Marina and myself for a few years now--I have worked for a large retail corporation for about five years, while helping when possible to build ARTpool, using the knowledge I've gained at work. Music has always been a passion of mine, and I have been collecting vinyl records since I graduated college.
With the gallery expanding into a cafe, I thought now is as good a time as any to try my hand at starting my own business, and thus ARTpool Records was born! Using my remaining PTO hours from my job, I hand built four rugged industrial plywood and 2x4 record displays, with the help of furniture designer Robert Zurn.
The general strategy was to construct the bottom portion of the displays first, which were set on castors--then construct the top portion and attach it to the bottom. We used Simpson Strong-Ties to construct the frames--they were easy to use and are quite sturdy.
Each display uses two full sheets of plywood--we used maple because of the similar color to the 2x4's. Finally we finished the wood with an acrylic-based lacquer, due to the metal elements being sensitive to normal lacquer composition.
The displays look amazing in our new shop section, which now includes a cafe and craft beer bar! It's pretty much all my favorite things in one building, so needless to say I'm much happier than I was when "working for the man". Come visit soon!
With the gallery expanding into a cafe, I thought now is as good a time as any to try my hand at starting my own business, and thus ARTpool Records was born! Using my remaining PTO hours from my job, I hand built four rugged industrial plywood and 2x4 record displays, with the help of furniture designer Robert Zurn.
The general strategy was to construct the bottom portion of the displays first, which were set on castors--then construct the top portion and attach it to the bottom. We used Simpson Strong-Ties to construct the frames--they were easy to use and are quite sturdy.
Each display uses two full sheets of plywood--we used maple because of the similar color to the 2x4's. Finally we finished the wood with an acrylic-based lacquer, due to the metal elements being sensitive to normal lacquer composition.
The displays look amazing in our new shop section, which now includes a cafe and craft beer bar! It's pretty much all my favorite things in one building, so needless to say I'm much happier than I was when "working for the man". Come visit soon!
Update: Five years later and our little record store has grown! We had a local carpenter craft four more displays that are almost identical to our originals, so we have double the vinyl from when we started. We also added storefront windows and a new entrance to the building, plus got air conditioning a few years ago, and decided to close our cafe (still serving coffee, beer and wine)--crazy how time flies! And, our original displays have held up great. If there's one thing I'd recommend for anybody thinking about opening a record store, it's to build a large inventory before you open, while watching carefully how much money you spend. It's crucial to have an exciting assortment for your customers, but if your prices are too high they will simply go elsewhere!
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