Exploring Life & Business with Wendy Neckers of Painted Finch Gallery & Epiphany’s Emporium

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Neckers. They and their team shared their story with us below:

Wendy Neckers 

Wendy Neckers created her first wall mural at the age of 2. Art is in her DNA. After a serious amount of scrubbing, her mom kept a closer eye on her budding artist. Drawing continued to be a passion throughout her growing years and after graduating from Clymer Central School, she refined her talent at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where she received an Associate’s degree in Commercial Art. Immediately after graduating, she began working for Willam K. Larson Advertising in Jamestown, NY. After a wonderful experience working with a great team, she got married and began a family. 

Alas, her handsome hubby was determined to become a rock star, so he moved his wife and their babies to Nashville, TN. It wasn’t long before she had the pleasure of working as an artist for Brentwood Music, creating paper and soft sculptures for book covers, CD covers, and trade show displays. 

Upon returning to the Clymer area, Wendy began to design and build sets, backdrops, and costumes for the community theaters of Clymer and Corry. 

In 2002 the family, 7 strong, moved to Corry and after the last of the fabulous kiddos went off to college, in 2012, she started an art gallery called Painted Finch Gallery in Corry, PA. The gallery has an excellent crew of amazing artists in the fold. Because she wasn’t busy enough, in 2017, Wendy opened her second business, Epiphany’s Emporium, an artisan gift shop next to the Finch in Corry’s historic district. 

Diving into creativity relaxes and unwinds the day for Wendy, who continues to paint in acrylics and draw in colored pencils. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The Challenge: Starting an art gallery in a small city that had mostly empty storefronts and the unknown as to whether or not the community would support its first gallery. 

I found that several people were thrilled when I opened the doors, and others were a little unsure as to whether or not they would be accepted coming in to browse. So, to put them at ease, I would greet them and tell them a little or a lot, depending on their level of interest, about the artwork and artist. Others, I would greet and leave the option of questions open. This approach has made original artwork less intimidating, and we have loyal customers who return regularly to see what is new for their home or to purchase a gift. 

The second Challenge: A bypass was created 60 years ago to move traffic a mile away from historic downtown Corry. 

Answer: In 2016, five of us entrepreneurs pooled our money together and started First Fridays. These are themed evening events on the first Friday of each designated month. The first year we had two events and had such a good response that years later, we are still doing them, and our retail members have increased to 24. First Fridays run from May through December. We bring in music, food trucks, a balloon artist, themed characters, and games to create a fun and festive atmosphere. This has had a profound impact on our businesses as well as building a sense of community and hope in our city. We are blessed to have other organizations catch the vision and help fund our efforts. Our storefronts are now mostly full of creative shops, and we have expanded our retail to almost 6 blocks. People love to discover Corry. 

Third Challenge: We are 35 miles from significant cities in all directions. 

Answer was to purchase TV commercials with three of our retail shops and restaurants on a 30-second commercial advertising historic downtown Corry. 8 seconds of fame per shop. This year we have 8 commercials. Very effective. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I started the Painted Finch Gallery in 2012 on Rt 6 and moved the business in 2015 to historic downtown Corry. In 2017 I opened Epiphany’s Emporium, an artisan gift shop which my sister Val brilliantly manages. My two shops are beside each other in the same restored building at 32 and 34 North Center Street in Corry. I represent over 80 amazing artists and artisans between the gallery and the gift shop. It is a privilege and honor to carry their work in my shops. The gallery specializes in realism and Impressionistic works in drawings, paintings, sculptures, mosaics, glass, ceramics, wood, and jewelry. We have many “local artists,” meaning up to a 40-mile radius, who have won awards and are collected nationally, represented at the gallery. When you live in a rural small city, the concentration of artistic talent is a bit more spread out. Jack Paluh, Kathe Umluaf, Jan Lutz, Wendy Bale, Amy Hahn, and myself are some of our popular local artists. We also carry regional artists such as internationally collected Cole Johnson, graphite/charcoal artist out of Binghamton, NY. Cole’s work has been featured in Southwest Art and graced the front cover of sporting magazines. 

Epiphany’s Emporium carries leather journals, handbags, sketchbooks, minerals, art supplies, jewelry, alpaca scarfs, glass, craft sodas, and whimsy. It is a fun shop with high-quality products, some created locally. In both shops, the intent is to promote an experience of joy and wonder. 

I love architectural salvage and repurposed pieces to create backdrops in both the gallery and the gift shop to display our wonderful works of art and treasures. 

What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I have learned to envision, strive for excellence, persevere, and be flexible. It doesn’t matter how well you plan; surprises come up, and how you handle the speed bumps, or cliffs will determine your level of success in all aspects of life. If a failure can be looked upon as a life lesson, then the experience is not wasted and can be a point of growth. 

Pricing:

• Epiphany’s from $3.00 to $450.00
• Finch from $3.50 to $5,000.00

Contact Info:

• Website: PaintedFinchGallery.com
• Instagram: Painted Finch Gallery
• Facebook: Painted Finch Gallery
• Youtube: Painted Finch Gallery

Image Credits
Wendy Neckers