How do you grow an arts district? For Urbana, Ill., residents, it was about organizing locally and enlisting city officials to offer tangible economic incentives to potential galleries.

In the spring of 2006, there were three core arts-related businesses in close proximity: Cinema Gallery, International Galleries and Griggs Street Potters. Cinema Gallery owner Carolyn Baxley saw a potential for growth. “I wanted to develop a creative cluster of arts-related businesses with common goals,” she says.

It’s nothing new to sell products based on the merits of fine handmade American craft and the stories of its makers. Husband-and-wife team Ben and Kate Gatski have helped retailers do that since they launched Gatski Metal in 2003, creating colorful sculptures hand-cut and -welded from recycled farm machinery.

But the Gatskis took their venture a few steps further in October, when they launched the online store The Steel Fork. The new business is based on the French concept of goût de terroir, which the Gatskis interpret to mean “the taste of the soil.”

Layaway plans do not just apply to furniture or electronics anymore. At Translations Gallery in Denver, Colo., interest-free payment plans ranging from three to six months are now available for works of art. “We made this decision because of the current economic situation,” director Kate Chimenti explains. “A client wanted a piece, but was hesitant to make a purchase until we suggested a payment plan. Suddenly, the price of the piece was in their budget.”

Translations first began offering layaway a year ago, and currently has no plans to discontinue it. “The response has been extremely positive. Clients appreciate our approach to making art affordable,” says Chimenti.

A Listing of Wholesale Trade Shows