Wisconsin Art Hub supports creativity in Cambridge
Gallery supports local artists and offers classes, ceramics, and events
Longtime artist Jacy Eckerman has always been entrepreneurial, having started an organic baby food company 14 years ago. That experience familiarized her with the business
resources available in Wisconsin, including the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at UW-Madison (SBDC). When she decided to launch her art gallery in Cambridge, Wisconsin Art Hub, she went directly to the SBDC for support.
“I went straight to the SBDC, and I really made the right call,” Eckerman says.
Eckerman worked with SBDC business consultants Amy Bruner Zimmerman and Chris Gruneberg on business planning and Anne Inman and the Small Business Accounting and Projection Clinic on financial projections.
“It was fate that there was an opening in the Accounting and Financial Projections Clinic right when I needed it,” Eckerman says. “They took my 50-page business plan and turned it into a ten-page document full of numbers that explained everything about my business plan.”
Eckerman appreciated the support with her business plan and numbers and continues to work with Zimmerman as she grows.
“Amy is the one I continue to talk to regularly,” she says. “I’m in the growth phase, working on getting to profitability, and she’s helping me figure out how to grow.”
Opening an art gallery in Cambridge
Eckerman had envisioned an art gallery in an actual house on Main Street in Cambridge. While driving through town with her husband one Thursday, she spotted a house for sale and was immediately seized with a sense of urgency to start her business. Eckerman told her husband, “Remember this moment; our lives are going to change forever.”
The following week, she reached out to the SBDC and began working with them.
Ultimately, Eckerman didn’t buy the house that galvanized her into action; instead, she rents a building on Main Street that has what she needed, including a large classroom space. While the shift in location required revisions of her early business plan, Eckerman says Zimmerman had
helped her prepare her business plan so meticulously that the shift wasn’t a dealbreaker.
“My original business plan had to change a lot when I changed locations,” Eckerman says. “Amy was so good at
making me do such a thorough job at everything that it wasn’t hard to pivot.”
Eckerman began assembling the pieces of her business in September 2022. She signed the lease on her space in February 2023 and opened her doors in May 2023.
“I had everything in place when I started,” she says. “I did have to frame out a new room to create a ceramics studio in the gallery (which was all built by women!) and there was already a large room in the back perfect for a classroom and back exhibit space.”
Eckerman did market research with the SBDC to establish the level of need in the community for Art Hub, but it was challenging, because Cambridge doesn’t have a Chamber of Commerce and has seen fluctuation on its Economic Development Committee.
“We haven’t really had good data since 2010, when we didn’t even have Dancing Goat Distillery or the neighborhood development that surrounds it.” Eckerman says. “This town has completely changed.”
Art Hub’s offerings
Art Hub Wisconsin offers numerous creative opportunities, and Eckerman sees possibility in every department. The art classroom houses eight to ten art classes every week for children and adults, including drawing, ceramics, printmaking, fiber arts, painting, and needle felting. Children from the local elementary school can take the bus directly to Art Hub’s after-school art program, and in the summer, Art Hub offers a variety of day camps, some of which utilize CamRock County Park, which is right behind Art Hub.
Resident artist Janet Nelson works out of the on-site studio and teaches classes.
“People can talk to her while she’s painting,” says Eckerman. “It’s pretty awesome.”
The gallery hosts monthly First Friday events, art openings, and community event Art on Main. Art Hub also hosts private birthday parties, holiday parties, bridal and baby showers, etc. The space is open until 7pm for drinks or arts activities like Glaze it up, where customers can glaze ceramic figurines or handmade original pieces anytime the gallery is open.
The art gallery hosts 60 artists and adds more regularly, promoting their work and connecting collectors with individual artists. Artists range from those who show their work in galleries all over the country and others who have never had a gallery show before. Eckerman provides extensive support to those newer artists, helping them price their work and taking the intimidation factor out of the process.
Art Hub’s ceramics offerings include wheel-throwing classes, private lessons, and clay memberships, and Eckerman is toying with the idea of becoming a clay distributor. She says she is comfortable making small tweaks to her business model as needed, noting that all her departments have many possibilities, and every change she makes impacts the course of how she may grow her business long-term.
She’s using digital tools for marketing–email newsletters, Facebook ads, and social media. However, word of mouth is her most effective tool, so far.
“We have so many things here–First Friday Open Receptions, classes, and Glaze it Up,” she says. “We have over 60 local artists’ work for sale in our gallery.”
Confidence comes from careful business planning
Eckerman is certain that the preparation she worked on with the SBDC will help her business succeed.
“The SBDC is amazing,” Eckerman says. “I would tell any artist interested in entrepreneurship to connect with the SBDC and write a business plan. I am
so happy to have written one–it provides me with peace of mind as I move forward. Amy made me prepare for everything–I even had mock employee schedules written before I even opened.”