“Our goal is to strengthen the community,” says Meghan Blake-Horst, owner of Absolutely Art in Madison, Wis. “We felt a strong sense of community support,” reports Fransien Schuller and Terry Brown of Morganton, N.C.’s Kala Gallery. “It makes sense to be a part of the community,” declares Ingrid Brown, owner of The Villager in Auburn, Ala.

The galleries and craft retailers featured in the pages that follow promote American-made products, celebrate local artisans and improve their neighborhoods. They’re active in their communities: participating in arts walks, hosting social events and collaborating with other businesses in their areas. They’re hosting charity events to support a wide range of causes. They’re also providing their towns with just plain fun—girls’ nights out, live music and wine-and-cheese events.

This year, NICHE magazine also honors two nonprofit organizations and a U.S. senator for making a difference in the American art and crafts community itself. Whether through political action, connecting networks of galleries or by helping artisans market their products, they’re all working to promote handmade craft.

Our 2011 Retailer of the Year is the Don Muller Gallery in Northampton, Mass. The gallery has been a mainstay of Northampton’s art scene for more than 30 years, and Don Muller’s vision and dedication to American-made art have kept the gallery prospering even through a challenging economy.

Success Is No Secret Here
For more than 30 years, the Don Muller Gallery has thrived on a combination of vision and hard work.

Winning by Doing
The 2011 Top Retailers and Honor Award Recipients all have one thing in common: they’re “doers.”

When it comes to art and culture, Northampton, Mass., has a storied past. Puritan Jonathan Edwards preached here, unleashing The Great Awakening. Sylvia Plath wrote poetry while a college student here. Thomas Cole painted the surrounding countryside.

The Don Muller Gallery, which has been named NICHE Magazine’s 2011 Top Retailer of the Year, sits at the heart of this historic landscape and is a longtime staple of its cultural richness.

Owner Don Muller, who has been selling art in western Massachusetts since the early 1970s and at his Main Street, Northampton, gallery since 1978, has seen many changes through the years. But his story isn’t as much one of survival as it is of vision—or perhaps of vision and dedication combined.

When asked for the secret of his success, Muller says simply, “I do what the store needs me to do when the store needs me to do it. ” He believes that galleries should approach business the way artists approach their raw material: with an unwavering commitment to producing something memorable. “Merchandising,” he maintains, “is an art form.”

Indeed, the gallery stands as testimony to Muller’s gift for blending art and commerce. He steers clear of straight lines in favor of soft, flowing curves. Walking through the store is like drifting through a landscape awash with glass sculptures, gold and platinum jewelry, and all manner of craft works. It invites customers to linger and savor individual pieces by hundreds of artists.

“I think what I sell deserves to be presented in an artistic way,” says Muller. “That’s a real priority of mine. I want people to feel comfortable in here, and I want that comfort to be carried over to the selling.”

Lucine Dirtadian and Ursula Rodgers, who sold their handcrafted jewelry to Muller for more than 20 years, consulted with him when they decided to open their own retail gallery in Tucson, Ariz. Running a gallery is both a calling and a challenge, according to Dirtadian. “But Don really helped us to learn and grow in a shorter period of time. He has a great sense of style and art and how to present. It’s why so many artists truly respect him.”

In operating the gallery, Muller describes his primary goal as creating a “seamless integration of vision,” one that flows from advertising through customer experience to the merchandise itself.

He has certainly proven his flexibility and staying power. Business revenue at the gallery declined just once—in 2008. When he first started out, calculators were cutting-edge technology. Today it’s not unusual to have several employees working computers. Soon the gallery will sell its merchandise online.

Still, weathering economic downturns can be the most daunting challenge art galleries face. The key, according to Muller, is to continue buying and selling distinctive inventory that builds customer loyalty.

“When there’s trouble in the economy, the first thing a lot of businesses do is to cut quality,” he says. “In the end, I think that really hurts them. I always want to keep raising the bar for myself. I think my customers rely on me to do that. I believe that’s why they come back.”

Muller is also not afraid of creative—even counterintuitive—business methods. In 2008, when competitors were slashing their advertising budgets, he increased his. This dovetailed with his philosophy of “promoting the gallery nonstop.” But it also meant increased visibility for the gallery since there was less competition.

In the end, as long as people keep coming through the door, Muller knows that sales will follow.

“Everything I purchase is selected because I feel passionate about it.” He says. “I don’t buy things because I think, ‘Okay, we’re going to sell tons of this.’ I’m happy if we sell one. And if it takes five years? I’m okay with that.”

Muller believes that long-term vision is critical for new and aspiring gallery owners. They need sufficient capitalization at the outset. They also need to know what customers want and then give it to them. Trends come and go, he says. The economy is always in motion. It is vision and commitment that keep successful galleries thriving and vibrant.

Of course, loving what you do doesn’t hurt. Muller consistently expresses gratitude at having been able to spend his life doing what he loves: selling art and making an art of selling. He takes more vacation time these days than he used to, but he remains a store fixture, the rock on which the Don Muller Gallery’s success is grounded.

“The owner has to be there in order to make it work,” he concludes. “It’s personal. Running a gallery is really a people business. We sell a story with every piece of merchandise. There’s no other way to do it.”

Good news travels fast but bad news travels even faster. Americans say they tell an average of nine people about good experiences, but nearly twice as many about poor ones. How would your company measure up?

These findings were released recently in the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer, a survey conducted in the U.S. and nine other countries to explore attitudes and preferences toward customer service. It found that the quality of customer service provided directly affects customers’ spending habits.

According to the survey, seven out of 10 Americans are willing to spend an average of 13 percent more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. Their wallets will go back in their pockets for sub par service: 78 percent of consumers surveyed said they had bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience.

Another common response to poor service is for customers to get angry. More than half of customers surveyed admit to having lost their temper with a customer service professional. They might have insisted on speaking with a supervisor, hung up the phone or—even worse—threatened to switch to a competitor.

How can you ensure this doesn’t happen with your business? The key is finding the right people for the job. If your company has employees who listen and respond to the needs of your customers, then your company is in good shape.

Less than an hour east of Minneapolis and St. Paul lies the St. Croix River Valley, a land of rolling hills created by the waterway that marks the boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota. One of the area’s jewels is Hudson, Wis., a small town packed with historic charm.

There, a mid-century creamery—this is America’s dairyland, remember—still occupies a busy intersection. But large banners proclaiming “Seasons on St. Croix Gallery” make clear the building’s purpose, as does the art glass gleaming in large windows: This is a wonderfully curated collection of North American art and fine crafts, deftly slipped into the old river town’s retail mix.

The gallery is the brainchild of owner Ruth Misenko, a 60ish woman with energy and charm to spare. Correction: Seasons on St. Croix is more than an eclectic, contemporary gallery that showcases handmade work by more than 160 artists and fine craft makers. Thanks to Misenko, this is a place where customers, artists and the community come together to engage with art, as well as to buy it.

For more of “An Artful Collaboration” pick up a copy of the Summer 2011 issue of NICHE magazine..