The newly opened Willow on State offers vintage books, vinyl, and contemporary art to those interested in something different.
By P.J. D’Annunzio, Staff Writer, KennettTimes.com
Willow on State opened its doors on July 9, 2011.
KENNETT SQUARE — “Curious?” reads the writing on the window of Willow on State, enticing inquisitive passersby to investigate the newest, and possibly most unique addition to Kennett’s thoroughfare.
“My goal is to unite people who like contemporary art and music…to have a place for people who have common interests to hang out,” Co-owner of Willow on State Sandy Mayer said, “If you’ve ever had a favorite record store that went out of business and you felt sad about it, the reason you felt sad is not that you can’t get that stuff somewhere else, you generally can, it’s that there’s something infused in that place that you can’t find anywhere else.”
“There’s love in all of this work,” Mayer said elaborating on the gallery’s wide array of contemporary art interspersed between rows of records, handmade jewelry, knickknacks, and books, “Every artist sat there by themselves and worked on their own. It’s a marvelous thing for them to come here and have people appreciate them. They don’t have to buy it…they can come here, hang out and listen to music and go ‘hey, that’s a really nice piece of art; that’s a payment for an artist. Everybody wants to be appreciated for whoever they are.”
A variety of handmade goods and contemporary art offered within the gallery.
That appreciation extends to music as well with a dedicated section of the store devoted to vinyl records from The Doors and Queen to newer artists. Willow on State also operates as a small venue for local musicians, generally singer-songwriters, who are eager to showcase their talent in front of an audience of like-minded individuals. There have already been several performances at Willow to date and the number is expected to increase over time.
Willow on State caters to readers and writers as well, offering an eclectic selection of rare and hard-to-find books. “We have cool, unusual, obscure titles…a lot of them are old and out of print,” said Mayer, “We are open to showcasing local writers also, they’re really, really important.”
One of the major themes of the store is innovation: breaking with traditional forms of artistic genres and exposing patrons to new modes drawn from Kennett Square itself.
“We want to be a stage for emerging, local, community based art,” Co-owner Hillary Sculthorpe said, “We want to be able to reach into the community and pull from it. We’re in an area where there’s a tradition of Old Master type art and we want to bring a new life, a new breath, sort of contemporary, into the art scene. We want to give you a really cool place to go where you don’t have to go into the city.”
Willow on State also doubles as a performance venue for local singer -songwriters and musicians.
Local photographer Susan Curtis commented on the accessibility of Willow on State as a showcase for artists, “This is a place that many people can find a home for their work,” she said.
The owners and employees of the gallery have striven to make it accessible not only to artists of all strokes, but for people who are not necessarily artistically literate, or who are new to contemporary art.
“I think that we’re giving people a chance to view art differently,” said Sculthorpe, “When you come in you’re greeted with sort of very bold, visceral images. It’s up to the viewer how they feel about that. It’s my goal for somebody to come in and have a reaction to the art. If it’s good or if it’s bad, I mean, I’m looking for them to have some sort of reaction. We’re looking for artists that really push that emotional reaction.”
