MEEKER | “It’s a multipurpose space for the common goal. And that really is celebrating the art, history and culture of Meeker,” said Christy Whitney Borchard, founder of new business “Heritage” in the Hugus Building on Main Street which celebrates its grand opening this weekend.
Visitors to the space can expect to find an eclectic mix of art, history, music, cards and gifts. The Heritage is a combination of a retail space selling gifts and other various items, the White River Museum featuring special historical exhibits, Meeker Arts and Cultural council hosting art studios and selling art supplies, and River Rhythms, Karl Casias’ new music store. The various entities operate with their own names under a multi-purpose umbrella that is “Heritage.”
ASHLEIGH/CHRISTIE’S
Ashleigh/Christie’s sells cards and a variety of gift items ranging from collectible pottery/china to books, to hand-crafted jewelry and more. Artists can also sell their own work in the space for a 25% consignment fee. Borchard hopes the space will provide an opportunity for working artists in the community to get more income and exposure by featuring their work in a prominent location. “I’m still trying to get the word out and trying to get local people represented,” she said, adding that she already had a number of local artists’ work featured and up for sale.
“Ashleigh/Christie’s is my personal business under an LLC. But in a couple of years, I hope to move the whole thing to a nonprofit. So that will support the Meeker Arts and Cultural Council and the Museum,” she said.
The recently retired CEO of HopeWest grew up in suburban Chicago and lived in Grand Junction for 30 years before settling in Meeker with her husband Kent Borchard.
Despite visiting the town frequently for at least the last 10 years, Borchard said she never fully explored its history, that is, not until relatively recently. After making some friends and doing a bit of reading, visiting the museum and participating as a local, she found herself fascinated by the history and ongoing culture of the area. “It’s all been so fascinating to me. And I think the people who are visiting Meeker, it’s going to be fascinating to them, too,” she said.
MUSEUM
“What is happening there now is a dream that a lot of us have had for a long time,” said Meeker resident Teresia Reed. The executive director of the White River Museum (which is also featured at Heritage) has been a key player in bringing the vision to life. Specifically, Reed helped determine what items could be featured at Heritage as part of a broader effort to highlight “the museum throughout the entire community.”
The first exhibit at Heritage starts right at the beginning of Meeker’s history, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Borchard and Reed. “This building is so historic and is a perfect location for it…so it was really fun to kind of give it a little buff,” Borchard said, referring to the time and energy spent getting Heritage ready for its grand opening. Reed expressed excitement about the opportunity to feature items that may not have been displayed as prominently before. “The dresses that she has in the closets there, you couldn’t see them from our display, so being able to look at them in a very protected environment is pretty wonderful,” said Reed.
MACC
In addition to supporting the museum, Borchard’s long-term goal is for the retail portion of the business to contribute funding to the Meeker Arts and Cultural Council (MACC). In the meantime those entities will already receive support in the space via promotion, exposure and fundraising efforts. For example MACC will operate art studios and sell art supplies, according to Borchard, who is an artist herself. “I used to be a landscape painter in pastel and watercolor but I got so sick of them all looking alike, to me they started to feel the same,” said Borchard, adding that she now does collage art. “It’s endless, what you can do with collage,” she said.
FUTURE PLANS
As part of her passions for both art and history, Borchard also hopes to promote memberships to MACC and the museum via monthly drawings. “People will pay $10 and for that $10, they get a membership to either the MACC of the museum, and they get entered into a drawing,“ she said.
Borchard said she wants to feature more artists from the community, act as a promotional location for surrounding businesses and tourist destinations, eventually reach non-profit status and help put Meeker in the running for state designation as an arts/cultural district. More tangibly, one plan is to update the theme for the museum’s feature exhibit on a regular basis.
“We’re changing the exhibit in a few weeks, or a few months, to something that is more sheep culture,” said Reed, adding that Heritage would also feature historical items from private collections. “The entire community kind of pulls out all their really cool stuff, even though they may not have given it to the museum, they’re willing to share it in the Heritage,” she noted.
Borchard said the Heritage will also host invitation-only events, art demonstrations and other events in the future. To kick things off formally, the Heritage will open this Saturday, June 3 in the historic Hugus Building in downtown Meeker.
BY LUCAS TURNER | [email protected]