JANESVILLE When Kegane Rynes placed For Rent signs in the window at Ravens Wish, her downtown Janesville gallery and artists maker space, the response was immediate.
Artists and shoppers alike worried Ravens Wish, the shop thats run more than a decade at 101 W. Milwaukee St., might be going out of business.
Its not.
Were not closing were just moving, Rynes said. Its really just the layout isnt what we need.
Rynes bought Ravens Wish from former owner Alicia Reed two years ago. Rynes, a painter and artist, took out a business loan and took over the lease at the 4,000-square-foot store space, which is a busy foot-traffic corridor just a half-block north of the downtown riverfronts town square.
Rynes says her shops move comes as the current space expansive, open-concept gallery space bound by all-glass outer walls, has become mismatched to the shops evolving needs.
Rynes and her business partner, Heather Hansen, have been working to build Ravens wish into a sustainable, art class-forward creative hub.
Hansen runs pottery classes on Wednesday and Thursday nights out of a space in Ravens Wish called Pottery By Five. The classes are now booking out a month in advance, with burgeoning interest by budding potters of all ages.
Shes adding pottery wheels, and needs more space for equipment plus storage and display of finished work and items slated for students to pick up.
That growth is an embodiment of a shift in the shops business dynamics, a move toward becoming a learning space for crafters who want to learn art and space for budding artists to work on projects and market work in a gallery environment.
Rynes says she wants to find a smaller, tighter space than the current location, in part to control the labor and cost overhead of running a shop.
But she also seeks to separate various pieces of the business, moving parts that now operating simultaneously in the same visual space.
The vision for a new location is more intentional: retail up front, and the shops art framing business and pottery workshop tucked behind the scenes.
I want it to feel like youre walking into a retail establishment, Rynes said.
A cleaner layout would let her focus on what she believes in most offering affordable classes while cultivating a genuine artists hub for the community.
Rynes wants to grow the focus on space to create. She already hosts workshops and provides artists with professional photography to turn works into prints and portfolios. She wants to do even more.
I want artists to be able to make an honest living. I dont believe in the starving artist mindset, she said.
A smaller space will also help Rynes right-size what can be a daunting day of straightening, cleaning and organizing spaces spread out over 4,000 square feet. Shes got a staff of two, herself included.
She thinks a more scaled-down shop will allow her to spend more time with her spouse and three children, who range in ages from 5 to 15.
My kids miss me, and I miss them. I want to step back so I dont miss out too much, Rynes said.
Rynes says the building owner is aware the shop is actively searching for a new space that fits. She said Ravens Wishs choice now to hang For Rent signs helps get the process moving. She hopes it reassures customers.
When Ravens Wish flies to a new location, it wont be far. Look for the shop to land at a storefront downtown where Rynes and Hansen both say they and Ravens Wish clients feel most at home.
Rynes said a main factor why she first bought Ravens Wish was its proximity to the soon-to-open Rock County Childrens Museum just across the street.
Meanwhile, a vacant lot just next door to Ravens Wish, on South River Street, could become the site of a new, 44-unit apartment complex a project the city of Janesville says could bring more that $11 million in new investment to the West Milwaukee Street corridor.
When Ravens Wish finds a new home, Rynes says she plans to announce it publicly.
We want the world to know where were going, Rynes said.