Craig Lenahan, co-owner of Renew Art Cottage and Consignment, stands in the first level of his business. There is an art studio on its top level. The store is located at 22 Catoonah Street, the former location of the Ridgefield Bike Shop.
(Photo credit: Steve Coulter)
Craig Lenahan remembers what the art scene was like when he was a kid growing up in Ridgefield.
It’s what motivated him to open Renew Art Cottage and Consignment — a shop that consigns vintage goods as well as artwork, while offering studio space to both kids and adults for classes, seminars, and birthday parties.
“Growing up in town, there wasn’t much,” he recalled. “To see what it’s developed into is tremendous; there’s an enormous amount of activities for children, and that’s helped Ridgefield turn into a real destination for families.
“But I felt that it was still lacking in the arts for children where they can feel completely open and not restrained in any way,” he added. “No pretension, no structure — just a fun and safe environment.”
Young artists can create work using acrylics, oils and watercolors in the shop’s top-floor art studio, which doubles as a private event space for adults at night.
Originally, the space was geared specifically toward children, but it evolved when Mr. Lenahan, a 1991 graduate of Ridgefield High School, introduced a “bring your own bottle” wine and art nights in the studio.
“It really took off when I launched the wine and art nights — it’s been very popular,” he said. “We do a lot of private parties for a lot of different groups — couples, book clubs, gardening clubs, girls nights out.
“It’s open for everybody but at different times,” he added. “We don’t have the size to put adults and children in here at the same time so we have to keep it age appropriate.”
The multi-purpose studio has continued to grow since the business opened in December.
In June, Mr. Lenahan hosted a two-day art gallery exhibit for a Ukrainian artist.
“We’re looking forward to doing that again because it was so well received,” he said.
Collecting and consigning
On the ground floor is the consignment part of the store, which features work from several local artists as well as a variety of items ranging from chairs and tables to jewelry and home decorations.
“We’ve sold a bit of everything; you name it,” he said. “We have very eclectic items.”
Mr. Lenahan is proud of his collection of sterling silver jewelry, which comes consigned from Argento Vivo in New York City. The company designs products for stores such as Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Tiffany.
“There’s no other place in town like this,” he said. “They’re consigning with us at a fraction of the cost; we’ve had a very good turnover rate.”
Besides the jewelry, everything else being sold is from within the county. The store has 14 pieces of art from artists who live here in Ridgefield and the surrounding area.
Similar to the art cottage concept, the consignment portion of the business has roots from Mr. Lenahan’s childhood.
His mother, Mary Ann, owned an antiques store in Nyack, N.Y., before moving the family to Ridgefield in 1972. She now co-owns Renew with her son.
“As a child, she used to drag me to all the antiques shops; she was a real collector of items and she collected a lot,” he said. “She came up with the consignment idea, but it didn’t seem like it would be completely sustainable on its own.”
Less structure
The light bulb turned on when a friend suggested to Mr. Lenahan that he combine the two ideas and have a children’s art cottage upstairs, above the consignment shop.
“The model we talked about was more open space for children to express themselves freely and not be dictated how they learn,” he said. “Less structure, more about allowing them to build confidence in the arts and in themselves.”
As he began to develop the idea, it morphed to include themed parties and after-school art programs, instead of just open studio space. Also added to the plan were adults and parents, instead of just kids.
The cottage’s extensive program list includes a “Mommy and Me” class for moms and newborns, a recycled art class, a photography class, and a Spanish language class, where students learn the language through art.
“The community is welcome to make suggestions of what they want,” he said. “Just because they don’t see it on the website doesn’t mean we won’t do it.
“This is not your normal art school; we’re doing something that’s not normally done,” he added. “You can experience art regardless of your skill level.
“We have classically trained artists who’d like to teach during the day and who are readily available.”
The artist
While Mr. Lenahan isn’t a traditional artist like those he features in his store, he does create lighting structures out of recycled products, such as old wine barrel bands.
Hence the business’s name, Renew.
“That’s the extent of my art — repurposing old junk into art,” he said.
The name takes on a second meaning when applied to the consignment process.
“When the concept of consignment came up in conversation, it was because we didn’t want to spend the money to become a retail establishment and have to buy material and sit on it — that’s a very easy way for a good business idea to go bad fast,” he explained. “The great thing about consignment is that it’s all quality products and merchandise, but it’s renewing something that’s already been used.
“A lot of people are moving away or down-sizing and we have a lot of their items,” he added. “And there are new families moving into town and they need those items.
“Instead of going to a big box store like Home Goods where things are made in China, you have things here that are vintage; that are authentic, and it’s all local stuff.”
Moving back
Mr. Lenahan moved back to Ridgefield last year after living in Greenwich and South Salem, N.Y.
Much to his surprise, he returned to find a town with a booming art scene.
“Art has become more pronounced than it was here in the past, which is really nice,” he said. “I didn’t realize how much it was until I opened.”
The changeover begs the question: would Renew have been able to survive in 1991, the year Mr. Lenahan graduated high school?
“I think it possibly could have survived back then, but it’s definitely benefiting from what’s going on in town,” he said.
Although he likes the location at 22 Catoonah Street — the former home of Ridgefield Bicycle Company — he wouldn’t mind seeing Renew expand beyond the space and into the school district.
“We absolutely have the ability to have traveling artists who can teach at the schools,” he said. “I hope we can collaborate with the schools and get something started.”
Renew is open 10:30 to 5:30 every day, except Tuesday, when it’s closed, and Sunday, when it’s open 11 to 4:30. To register for classes, programs or seminars go to www.renewliving.net or email info@renewliving.net.