Today we’d like to introduce you to Galadriel Olson.
Hi Galadriel, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We moved to Lakewood from Texas in early 2021. We just instantly fell in love with the city and the people! When we moved here, we had no intention of starting a business. We aren’t entrepreneurs. We are a family of artists and we looked up art supply stores in town…there weren’t any! We already knew there was a huge community of artists here, it seemed unbelievable that there wasn’t a place to get art supplies. At first, we just sort of joked about it…like haha, *we* should open an art supply store. Over time, and after doing some light research, we decided that maybe we actually could! We really liked the idea of being able to benefit the community that we loved so much! I talked to some other small business owners in town. I signed up with SCORE to get some small business mentors. All of this helped us realize it was possible and that we were really going to be able to open an art supply store! An opportunity came up for a space in the area that we really wanted and we jumped on it. So, here we are!
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?
I would say it has been relatively smooth except for the fact that we literally had to learn every.single.thing. about starting and running a business from scratch because we really didn’t know anything! It was a HUGE learning curve and I will be forever grateful to our friends and mentors who guided us through this process. The only other difficult bit has been dealing with supply chain issues. We don’t have any control over that and it stinks!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are an independent art supply store specializing in fine art supplies for all levels. We really try to bring in supplies at multiple price points. We will have more events and begin classes in the near future! We are the only independent, fine arts focused, broad-range art supply store on the west side!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I think the lesson we learned is that sometimes you just have to dive in head first and know that you will be learning along the way…and that’s ok! Our customers have been so kind, supportive, and understanding. I am beyond thankful, but not surprised, by that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lakewoodartsupply.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/lakewoodartsupply
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakewoodartsupply/
Image Credits
Grace McConnell
Sally Van Nuys
July 11, 2022 at 5:05 pm
Great article. I love to see local artists and small businesses get a piece of the spotlight so we can learn more about them. I’m anxious to visit Lakewood Art Supply and grab up some goodies…imho, you can never have enough!