'Bda has the potential to be a centre for art'

Artist and owner of The Island Store Barbara Finsness believes that Bermuda has the potential to have a thriving art scene that attracts tourists from far and wide.

She admits that we are a far cry from that dream right now and that there needs to be a big change in mindset for it to happen. Ms Finsness has had to reinvent her store off Front Street just to keep the business going.

Her four stores carry her ­signature collection of giftware including pillows, hand towels, tableware and ceramics. They are suffering like any business here but on December 9, she is officially opening the Front Street store as an art gallery predominantly ­featuring her unique collection of water colour paintings.

Ms Finsness first opened the store on Old Cellar Lane, next to the English Sports Shop, in 2001 with her late husband Kenneth. The business soon out grew the space and they moved the main store to 3 Queen Street Hamilton. The two Hmailton stores were carrying mostly the same stock and being located so close together the Old Cellar Lane business has been struggling to survive.

“Last year I had to make the decision whether to close this space,” explained Ms Finsness.

“Everyone who wants my products have been going over to my main store — there was no reason to come here really. I thought ‘what can I do to draw people down this alley that will provide something unique?’ and I thought I would love to get back to my painting.

Experiment

 “I think it’s nice for an art gallery to have its own space rather than being amalgamated into a gift shop. This is an experiment and I will give it a few months and see what happens.”

Ms Finsness has been in Bermuda since 1981 after studying Fine Art at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. She has designed pieces for the Bermuda Society of Arts, the National Gallery, the Bermuda Botanical Society, the Eliza Dolittle Society as well as private commissions.

She plans on making the store into her own studio where customers can see her at work and is also ­considering running a course at the store a couple of times a month.

She believes that there is a need for retailers to remain optimistic and reinvent themselves where necessary in order to survive in the current climate.

“If you are just looking to go to existing models of business you will be disappointed,” she said.

“You may not succeed the first time but you need to create a market today rather than do the same old thing.

“We are still trying to keep the same business model but I think Bermuda needs to change.”

Ms Finsness also believes that landlords should be more open to negotiate with local artists rather than keeping their doors firmly shut for business.

“I do think that landlords need to be a little more open minded about the rent they are charging because most artists can not afford huge rent. Landlords might say they could take a percentage of sales — something more symbiotic where the landlords are working with artists rather than having all these places boarded up on Front Street. 

“There is really very little interest or enthusiasm in any retail operation — any new retail spot seems to be going over to cellphone businesses.

“In Charleston (South Carolina) they have 250 art galleries within four blocks — there is a real energy there. People go there especially with the idea of going to the little art galleries to buy unique, local things.

“I think why don’t we do that in Bermuda — there is so much creative talent here we should have more galleries and shops.”