Larkin Arts, In our hearts, Harrisonburg, VA (2026)

04/09/2021

This last year has brought about profound change and continues to shift and settle around us. Many of us have lifted our tent poles and been carried along, moving into entirely new perspectives and ways of living. Priorities, awarenesses, anxieties, compassion – many of us are redefining who we want to be and how we want to live in body, mind and spirit.

Scott and I have felt this shift and are sitting with many of you in a moment of pure faith - trusting that the future holds something different for us, even though we have no idea where it will lead. And for reasons we can’t entirely articulate, we simply believe that we will know the next step when it presents itself and that in order to be ready, there are some things that must be let go. To that end, we trust that it is time for us to step away from Larkin Arts.

While we have felt this truth for a while now, I think we have perhaps continued to question it, to verify our feelings almost daily because on paper it sounds strange. We felt incredibly fulfilled each day at Larkin Arts and truly loved our work. And we continue to believe so much in our mission to nurture, promote and advocate for artists as well as in the importance of the arts and its power to change lives. While this has been a difficult decision to make, in our hearts we know that this is the time for us to step away and allow this precious niche to be filled by others. And we absolutely believe that this will be for the highest good.

So…

As to practical matters – we have items in storage that will need to find homes and we plan to have a yard sale downtown next month. In the meantime, few things could make us happier than to see Larkin Arts flourish in the hands of folks who would love and nurture it as we have for the last 14 years. So, if your shifting and settling has led you to believe that your next step is an art store, gallery, school, studio space or any combo thereof, let’s chat! We’ve got an awesome biz, well loved and supported, that is ready and raring to go 🥰 that is to say, we would entertain the notion of selling Larkin as a business, with contacts/partnerships/manuals, etc, furniture/displays/all the accoutrements one might need. We’ve even got a newly re-fabbed sign.

Thanks for listening, dear community. You have been and continue to be a caring family. We love you and can’t wait to see what’s next for all of us. We’ll be in touch soon.

Love, Scott and Valerie (and Penny)

04/01/2021

Printual Aid ❤️❤️

10/19/2020

Tom and Ada got married! Together for 48 years, what a beautiful couple and a sweet ceremony. We love you two so much!

10/16/2020

WE ARE HIBERNATING!
Dear Friends, As we enter our period of ‘hibernation’, with our items in storage and our hearts full of your warm wishes, we want to remind you that we are all in a significant season of change. Be gentle with one another, be strong when you can and ask for help when you can’t, stand up for what is right and just, live true to your deepest voice and love yourself like a best friend. We do not know what the next chapter will be in our business, in our country, in our world, but we do know that we will continue to work toward our goal of launching Larkin Arts 4.0 over the next year as we listen to our community and our own hearts. What can be build together?
So much love to you all

10/10/2020

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO TELL YOU ABOUT OUR NEW HOME!

When we first announced we would have to close our store and asked for leads on storage options, we had a number of folks reach out to offer space, some free, some for rent, some tiny, some vast. And we'd like to extend a warm thanks to all of you, it was much appreciated. We definitely needed no or low rent so at the very least, we knew we had barns in Timberville and the back part of garages and sections of multiple basements. We even had folks reach out to offer to pay for a month or two of a small storage unit! You are the best family!

Out of the 10 days we spent looking into each location, two perfect spaces emerged. One, a large basement in our friend's house. Thank you, dear friend! You have given us such a gift. You reached out early and without hesitation and we are so grateful for your incredible generosity.

The other place is one we are using to store large and heavy things we couldn't easily move to our friend's house, as well as items we will need easy access to during our hibernation. We will also be able to work out of it periodically so we can maintain certain aspects of our business during this unknown time frame. It is right around the corner, so we literally rolled all our items down the sidewalk! They not only took in our storage, but also some school furniture, our plants and lounge area, making a blended and exciting space for everyone to use!

Our new home is at 60 West Market Street, in the arms of RISE, a faith community who are fully embodying their tenets of love, acceptance and outreach. We have never been to their church, but they saw on facebook that we were struggling and cared for us deeply as an organization they believed in, as community members in need and as people who were in a challenging position. So they talked with their members and landlord and reached out to us to offer exactly what we needed and exactly at the right time. They saw a need they could meet and someone they could help and then did it. We are moved to tears by their kindness and grace.

If you don't know Rise, maybe take a minute to check them out, and if you are walking downtown, walk on by and you can see a lil' bit of Larkin right there in the big, beautiful windows. Maybe in the not so distant future you'll be able to come in and sit in the familiar lounge area and help all of us do some work for the good of our community.

We will be forever grateful to our friend as well as to Amanda, Michelle and Kory and the other members of the Rise community. Thank you all for taking us in during a time of sadness and chaos and giving us the grace of time and space to collect our energies and resources and our best possible chance of reopening Larkin Arts. So much love to you!

www.riseharrisonburg.com

10/06/2020

We have one last highlight post to make before we begin our hibernation. When we opened Larkin Arts our top priority was to build community. We fundamentally believe that the arts have a powerful ability to heal, to bring people together, to share ideas, and to facilitate a greater understanding of each other and the world around us. For our final highlight we want to extend our tremendous and endless gratitude to YOU - our beloved community!

From the beginning Larkin has been a labor of love not just from us but from all of our amazing friends, family, customers, instructors, students, musicians, gallery artists, art lovers, staff and so many others who've shown up time and again over the last eight years to support our mission of connecting people through the arts. Thank you so much for showing us your love and support and for affirming us in our calling each and every day.

Thanks to all of you who chipped in to get our art center up and running and to those who volunteered their time to scrape, paint, sweep, clean windows, build displays, and so much more. Thanks to all our staff members who brought a spirit of enthusiasm and passion to a job requiring such a diverse skill set and extensive knowledge. Thanks to our customers who chose to run with the little guys to back a big dream. Thanks to the consignment artists for helping to create a unique experience where shoppers could always count on finding something special. Thanks to the art market vendors, face painters, and other event staff for bringing so many smiles to so many faces and making our events feel extra special. Thanks to our instructors for helping us foster an environment of imagination and enlightenment. Thanks to our students for inspiring us to grow and learn more every day. Thanks to the hundreds of artists who showed work in our galleries over the years along with our gallery directors, jurors, and gallery partners who helped bring such remarkable beauty into our space and into the world. Thanks to the incredible performers for bringing an atmosphere of fun and festivity to our events/openings and to the attendees who celebrated talent and creativity with us month after month. Thanks to the amazing photographers for the gift of being able to look back on it all. Thanks to all of our studio artists who illuminated our hallway with a tremendous sense of aspiration and accomplishment. Thanks to everyone who cheered us on and to each and every person who touched our hearts and our lives in countless ways over the years. Without all of you there would be no Larkin Arts and we can't thank you enough for showing us how much skill, strength, and love exists in our little town.

Thanks Harrisonburg! We feel the love and we love you back!

10/05/2020

To Scott & Valerie-

I will try to be brief, but it’s only fair I make a post about you two considering you made one about other people every. single. day. last month (whilst making one of the hardest transitions ever).

If you know Scott Whitten and Valerie Smith, consider yourself lucky. I’ve never met a better suited pair. Scott’s kindness and his dry and witty humor (seriously, the wittiest humor) and Valerie’s s***k and compassionate charisma creates the dreamiest duo.

Together, they are a true force. A force which spreads love, advocates for artists, creates opportunities for others, and always keeps an open mind. Their generosity is contagious and they create an environment that just feels GOOD. (It's a proven fact y'all!) They've been my family away from home and they have a way of nurturing everyone they meet. I can't even count the number of times someone came into the shop looking for something, maybe even something we didn't carry, and Valerie would disappear for a second and come back with that exact thing and say, "It's yours, enjoy!" I joked with them that they'd give away everything in the store if I'd let them. And to say I’m thankful for what they’ve given me is so, so much an understatement.

I feel grateful that I have had the opportunity to witness their impact on Harrisonburg and the small but mighty art community that it fosters. They never cease to amaze me with how hard they work to create a space for others, always and I really mean ALWAYS putting others first. They haven’t been dealt an easy hand this year and they handled it more gracefully than most would.

I feel like my time at Larkin Arts has truly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience and these are years of my life I will never, ever forget. I don’t know many people that can say a job or two people have moved them the way Scott, Valerie, and Larkin Arts have moved me. They’ve made me feel loved and appreciated every single day. I want to just thank you both from the bottom of my heart for the last three and a half years. Thank you for what you have created for Harrisonburg and I know maaaaany folks that would agree when I say you two really are the BEST. I love you so sooooo so much. Farewell for now, Larkin Arts. Best believe I’ll find my way back someday, too. 🙂

Love, Kristin

(Show them YOUR LOVE down in the comments!

09/30/2020

Aw geez, this is possibly our hardest post to write and so we put it off to the very ennnnnnnd. Today, day 29 of our September highlights (and the night before her last day of work) we would like to give the hugest, most sincere thanks and acknowledgment to Kristin Lewis.

When we called Kristin to offer her a position back in 2017 (almost before she left the building, it was that obvious!) and we reached Beyonce Knowles' voicemail instead, we knew we had a superstar on our hands. And when a good friend heard we had hired her, his words were 'Kristin... is a PARAGON.'

And that she is.

Kristin is one of the most genuine people we know, fully herself in every moment and so openly honest in her words and actions. But it is the fact that she is so Genuinely good and Genuinely kind and Genuinely hilarious that is so special. She doesn't feign sincerity or do things for others because she thinks she should - she speaks and acts with compassion and joy and humor because that is simply who she is. Kristin is a positive, wondrous, compelling force in this world. And everyone in her orbit is better for it. We, too, are better for knowing her and we are beyond grateful to call her our friend.

This post is so hard because we know that tomorrow will bring an end to this beautiful space we share every day with Kristin, not just physically. And that feels like such a tremendous loss to us. We know we will spend time together in the future and we know we will talk, but it feels like we created a home here together and we feel a bit shattered to say goodbye to her, our closest family.

Looking back over the last 3 1/2 years with Kristin, we can wholeheartedly say that she embodies the best of Larkin and of who we want to be as an organization. From the beginning she took a ton of initiative and pride in the space and worked hard to help artists and the public connect with us, with themselves, and with one another. She shared our passion for creating new opportunities for artists and always took the time to make sure each situation, big or small, was handled with integrity and to the very best of her ability. It can be scary as a small business to commit to creating a full time position, but Kristin proved that the right person is all you need! Kristin became our first and only full-time staff member and helped Larkin Arts flourish over the past few years. Her contributions are absolutely immeasurable.

Fun Facts: Kristin is a prodigy potter, a glorious prankster, (we found the weird baby figurine tonight, btw!) 😂 , a talented fibers/ jewelry/ collage/ 2D/ mixed media/ painting/ hand lettering artist and designer and maybe the best dog mommy we know. She knows how to tie all kinds of impressive knots, dock a boat like a pro, roller blade like a champ, make beautiful earrings, wall hangings, and websites and find the sneakiest spots to hide silly treasures.

Thank you, Kristin, for simply being you! We love you so very much and we know whatever path you choose will serve you well because YOU will be there. You have an inner strength, determination, and equal measures of pragmatism and positive spirit that will move you through all obstacles with ease. We wish you the brightest future and want you to know you will always have a home at Larkin Arts either for regular visits or to come back and work with us forevvverrrrr. (Are we empty nesters now? Is that what this feeling is? 🤣 ) Later, tater tot! Don't forget to write! Let us know if you need to do laundry! But seriously, let's never be too far away and we will be here for you always and forever! MWAH!

Larkin Arts

04/09/2021

04/01/2021

10/19/2020

10/16/2020

10/10/2020

10/06/2020

10/05/2020

09/30/2020

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