Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa & Don Drumm. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Don is a practicing sculptor and craftsman who works in a variety of mediums, but primarily metals. He produces an incredible range of products in cast aluminum and pewter. He is also recognized for his sculpture creations in all weathering steel or stainless-steel ranging in height from 5 feet to 20 feet tall displayed in private, commercial, and community spaces throughout the nation.
Don’s wife Lisa, daughter of well-known Erie PA painter Joseph Plavcan, is also an artist recognized for her work in fibers and soft sculpture. In the early part of her career, she taught art in the Akron public and private school system for several years, before retiring to help raise their 3 daughters and manage the gallery with Don full-time.
In the early days, Don and his wife Lisa marketed their work from home and at craft shows. They also taught at Penland School of Crafts for many years, where they met and became friends with several other craftspeople.
In 1970 they purchased a building to house Don’s studio, workshop, and metal casting facilities. They dedicated one-quarter of the space to house a gallery where they displayed their work and gradually added the work of others, including many from their days at Penland.
When the wholesale trade shows began in the 1970s, they attended as both sellers and buyers and began to expand their selection of works by American artists. Over the years they have grown from a single showroom to a campus of 8 buildings and additional courtyards and parking lots. Of the eight buildings, one displays predominantly American and Canadian crafts, and the second adjacent shop houses wood, fiber, leather, and interesting and unique commercial products. Don Drumm Studios and Gallery now represents over 500 artists in 10 showrooms.
Although Don Drumm Studios is not located in a high-traffic area and has no visible display windows, they appear to have successfully defied all the rules of opening a small retail business. Their success comes from creating and representing high-quality artwork from craftspeople throughout the country, an amazing team of employees, and promoting their gallery as a destination. They have been fortunate to have had the support of the City of Akron, and a loyal and dedicated following of customers, and collectors.
Currently, Don and Lisa have been stepping back a little more to enjoy time with their daughters Elisa Drumm Van Auken, an artist who lives and works in MA with her family and grandchildren, Tamula Drumm a language instructor/specialist in Akron, and Leandra Drumm a metal and etched glass artist whose work is exhibited in the gallery. Leandra and her husband Tim have been working alongside Don and Lisa to learn, grow and maintain the family business. They look forward to carrying on the tradition of bringing fine handmade American crafts to the community for many more years.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a new business is never easy. The Drumm’s have been fortunate in that a number of art collectors who were also successful businessmen, have been very helpful in guiding them through the aspects of doing business. Lisa acknowledges that Don is a highly creative individual but because of his dyslexia struggles with managing numbers and the financial aspects of doing business. Their partnership has allowed Don to focus on designing and creating artwork, while Lisa selects the crafts they represent in the gallery and manages the financials and daily operations.
One obstacle they faced in the early days of establishing their business, was discrimination against women. They needed money to buy inventory for the upcoming holiday season. One of their business friends told Lisa they could get a loan from the bank, and he coached her on how to approach the bank. When she approached the banker, he said “we don’t do that” she replied, “I happen to know that you do”. He then told her she had to put up collateral, and again she told him that was not correct. Finally, after much back and forth, he told her she would have to fill out a great deal of paperwork. She said, “fine, give it to me and I will be back later today”. Then, as she was walking out the door he said “when you come back, Mrs. Drumm, bring your husband!” She was furious and called her friend and said “that is illegal. He can’t discriminate against me because I am a woman” Her friend said,” you are right, Lisa, but take Don.” Don then gathered information on the business as Lisa filled out the paperwork and accompanied her back to the bank. He showed the banker what he had and then pointed at Lisa and said “now deal directly with her!“ Lisa gave the banker the paperwork she had filled out, and they received their loan. Don has always put his complete trust in Lisa’s management capabilities which has contributed to their success as a business. As the years have gone by their partnership with the bank has grown, and they have developed a relationship of mutual respect. The bank has helped their business in the purchasing and acquisition of their properties, lines of credit, and many aspects of doing business.
Lisa often comments that she learned a great deal about business in the bars at craft shows. There were many craftspeople new to the business of marketing crafts. They would gather after the craft show closed at night to discuss methods, problems, trends, etc. She reflects, “We taught each other a lot.”
She also credits her business friend who analyzed their business and said “Lisa, you may not know the stock market, but you do know a good ceramic pot when you see it. Invest in the crafts.” This was good advice which they have followed, trying never to lose sight of who they are and what makes their work and the gallery unique.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Don has an amazing capacity for learning, exploring, and adapting new techniques and mediums to create and produce his artwork. He has worked in Aluminum, Steel, Pewter, Copper, Bronze, Polymer, and Concrete in creating some of his small- and large-scale commission pieces and murals which can be viewed throughout Akron and Ohio. He never tires of working and producing new bodies of work and always manages to find inspiration in everyday life.
In the early days of his career, he worked in welded steel and bronze. Upon renting studio space in a shop that specialized in rebuilding tire molds from aluminum, Don met a foundryman, Claude Rainbolt, who was willing to teach Don about the casting processes. Don became very interested in aluminum and the casting process, seeing the possibilities of this lighter metal in creating artwork for architectural installation. He also learned that he could make what is called a “Match Plate” enabling him to reproduce an item in multiples. This allowed for more reasonable pricing on creating artwork.
Akron has traditionally been the center of many major rubber and polymer companies. People from those companies, travel all over the world and often need smaller gifts to carry with them. Don took this opportunity to begin designing smaller sculptures and gift items in Pewter which allowed him to create objects with greater detail. The costs for creating pieces were less, and the molds which carry the image were much more forgiving, allowing for new design elements. Thus, a whole new line evolved.
In later years, Don was approached by another artist who had equipment to cut large sheets of metal using water jet and laser cutting technology. He and Don worked on many larger metal sculptures ranging from 5 feet tall to the most recent commissions which are 18 to 20 feet tall. Don designs and creates the model with the specifications for producing the sculpture, and then the sections are cut, assembled, and welded together. The sculpture is brought to the site and installed.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
Don’s parents were very creative, though untrained in any art forms. His father was an ace mechanic and always building things. He retired to buy a resort lake where he built all kinds amusement park-type rides out of ordinary found objects, oil drums, springs, motors from various odd places. There were merry-go-rounds, flying airplanes, and bouncing toys. They always had a creative project going, though none of them as art objects. Don’s great-grandfather was a blacksmith. Don attributes much of his love of metals and his skill for assemblages to his background.
Lisa’s parents were also artists. Her father was a very well-known painter and teacher. Some favorite memories of Lisa’s are of accompanying her father when he went to paint a child’s portrait and listening to the stories, he told to entertain the child while he painted. But she also liked sneaking off to play with the other child’s toys when the session got too long.
In addition to teaching art, Lisa’s mother was also the local art critic in Erie, PA. To Lisa as a child, her articles always seemed to have been completed at the last minute. Lisa and her father would wait patiently until the article was typed. Then would drive downtown at night and Lisa would run up into the darkened newsroom to put the article on the editor’s desk, while her dad drove around the block and returned to pick her up.
Contact Info:
- Website: dondrummstudios.com
- Instagram: Don Drumm Studios
- Facebook: Don Drumm Studios
- Youtube: Don Drumm Studios & Gallery @dondrummstudiosgallery5281
Image Credits
Makaila Stroud
Mary Cistone
