by kevin, on April 8th, 2010
In 2004, on a busy corner in Venice, CA, an old Hudson auto repair garage built in 1923 was converted to an art gallery. Abbot Kinney Boulevard, between Venice and Pacific, is a ten block long collection of trendy restaurants, custom jewelry shops, book stores, clothing stores, and consignment shops. Every medium-size U.S. city has a similarly gentrified stretch. The garage was located at the southeastern end of that stretch at the corner of Venice and Abbot Kinney. Others in the community may not have given much notice to yet another gallery opening in an already artsy neighborhood. However, it was the first time the garage had been used for anything other than auto repair since it had been built. The new tenant and planned space were different, yet not in a way immediately obvious, especially to that tenant. epOxybOx (intentional spelling) was an art gallery dedicated to presenting green art and the work of fine artists using green materials or media. That idea may have been several years ahead of the curve, but that’s not what set it apart. At the time, no one could have predicted what it would become and how it would evolve.
When Deborah Guyer Greene started epOxybOx, she wasn’t fully aware of the path it would take. In fact, her new venture began on a bit of a lark. She was art director for the Foliage Theater Project and ran the Shakespeare Probation Program where she taught theater to violent offenders between 14 and 19 years old. One day, while searching for a large wall surface for a mural painting, she stumbled on the shuttered garage. She knew as soon as she saw the place she had to do something with it. During a recent interview, she referred to it as divine intervention. “It’s a terrible way to make business decisions,” she warns. Without a written business plan and before securing investment capital, Deborah signed a lease and formed epOxybOx. It quickly became a social hub, a community gathering place, an event center, and a place to party. Event and opening audiences went from small crowds to large throngs.
While converting garage to gallery, Deborah knew she wanted to use environmentally favorable building materials, but finding them was far more difficult than she expected. That struggle planted a seed in her mind. Two years later she joined forces with Sasha King to form epOxyGreen. Their idea was that green materials should be easier to find and affordable to purchase. At first they carved out 500 square feet in the garage lube room, but the new business was an instant hit and required additional space. As the showroom grew, the gallery shrank. It eventually took over all 1,500 square feet.
In July of 2009, in order to keep pace with their growth, the business moved less than a mile to their new home on a busy retail corridor. The epOxyGreen Design Center now has 5,000 square feet of showroom space on two floors. Neither Deborah nor Sasha have a design or building background, and maybe that’s a good thing. Starting from a clean slate, unrestrained by preconception, has allowed them to freely select their product offering. It’s led them to unusual discoveries that may not have happened otherwise. They didn’t know what they didn’t know. But they surrounded themselves with smart people who help expand their knowledge base. Deborah admits, however, the business probably would have gotten a jump start had she or Sasha been more connected to the local design community. Some of their largest sales orders are now coming from area designers who are starting to discover that epOxyGreen is one of the largest showrooms of it’s kind in southern California.
How do partners without design experience triple the size of their showroom? “Setting up a showroom is very much like curating a gallery show,” Deborah says. The space is a narrative where sustainable building materials are leading characters. She’s trying to create love stories between customers and environmentally favorable products. The showroom staging has clearly been influenced by her theater and art background. Aspects of the consumer experience have been crafted and choreographed. I have to admit the showroom works pretty well as a gallery exhibition. Even though they may have the largest collection in the region, they’re planning to pare back the offering. In the beginning they wanted to showcase everything they could find, but an edited collection will serve their customer base better.
At it’s core, epOxyGreen, and its two owners, represent an idea that all commerce is social. Talk with either Deborah or Sasha and five minutes will not pass without a reference to community engagement. For both, it’s not empty talk. They truly believe that commerce can have a transformative effect on people and places. They don’t view their product as only raw construction components. Instead, they want customers to have a relationship with materials that maximize the impact on people’s lives while minimizing the environmental impact. They see the showroom as a tool to educate, train, and encourage participation in a broader discussion. Already this year they’ve hosted topic specific book signings, green job training courses, LEED green building educational classes, and more.
During a follow up conversation a few days ago, Deborah excitedly told me how she’s been reading The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones and how it’s moved her to restart her work with juvenile violent offenders. She wants to develop a new program to impart green knowledge and sustainable design concepts so those kids will be better prepared to participate in what will likely be the most important conversation of their age.
Thank you Deborah for your time, energy, interest, and drive. Good luck with all that you choose to pursue.
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