Roosevelt Row in Phoenix is known for its kitschy coffee shops, pop-up galleries and First Fridays, but until now, Tempe lacked a similar art scene.
Located at 10th Street and Mill Avenue in a small space in between the newly opened King Coffee and the well established Quo Vadis bookstore, is Moonage. This small shop is best described as a combination between a gallery space and an Etsy store front for local artists.
Featuring jewelry, paintings, screen printed pillows, cement candles and terrariums for succulents, the shop tries to appeal to a wide audience, even if it's not quite sure who that audience is.
Kelli Vanyek, co-owner and Free People retiree, said she loves being in the shop everyday and meeting all of the people who pass through.
“We don’t really know what (our demographic) is yet," she said. "And I don’t know if we really want to; we want to appeal to everybody."
Vanyek met co-owner Tyler Greene at Casey Moore’s, a local bar and oyster house. The two soon realized their shared passion for art and their dream to open an art shop, Vanyek said. They saved their money and when the space opened, they decorated the interior themselves.
The shop is rectangular in shape. A cement bar sits across from the door on the back wall and acts as the checkout counter. In the center of the room is a large, dark wood table covered in well-displayed jewelry. Necklaces made of bullet casings attached to long narrow stones, earnings made with the southwestern aesthetic in mind and rings with turquoise, moonstone and amethyst are just some of the featured artists’ works.
The shop walls have dozens of different photographs, paintings and even painted skateboard decks. Wood floors and warm lighting give the shop a welcoming feel, but possibly the best feature of this little mom and pop shop is its diversity and what seems like a determination to bring an art scene to Tempe.
Within a few short weeks of getting their space set up, Vanyek and Greene opened up shop with artwork mostly from friends last December. Now, less than five months later, Vanyek has been able to quit her position at Free People and the shop is now open six days instead of seven.
“From Dec. 5 until the first Monday in March, I didn’t have a day off,” Greene said.
Greene said that despite the struggles of opening and operating a small business in the first year, Moonage is doing great.
“Our goal isn’t to get rich, it’s just to survive and do what we love, and that’s what we are doing,” he said.
An added benefit to doing what they love is the people who pass through their store and the community that they are now even more apart of.
“Tempe needed this,” Greene said, “We felt like there’s a ton of cool places in Phoenix but we live in Tempe, and why isn’t there someplace to go in Tempe?”
Vanyek said she loves being in Tempe and that her and Greene’s whole lives are in Tempe.
Both are graduates from Mesa Community College and both grew up in the area. Vanyek went on to study art at ASU and both have lived within a two mile radius of their new shop for the last half of a decade.
As the shop continues to flourish, Vanyek and Greene plan to host events featuring local bands and food trucks, and to continue with their once-monthly jewelry classes. But overall, they just hope to see more locally owned businesses open up in Tempe and more art be a part of everyday life.
Reach the reporter at cmclevel@asu.edu.
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