Local artists co-op finds new home in downtown Kalispell

Paint, Metal & Mud Gallery and Gifts has been showcasing the work of local artists in downtown Kalispell for nearly 20 years. Ever since its opening Nov. 1, 2001, the artists cooperative has been tucked into the iconic Kalispell Hotel on Main Street. The gallery dovetailed nicely with the hotel business, since hotel guests frequently came in to shop for gifts and souvenirs, said Pia Eaves, one of the shop’s founding members.

But since the landmark hotel built in 1912 was purchased last November and the new owners expressed plans to expand the lobby, Eaves had anticipated Paint, Metal & Mud might be moving. She learned at the end of January the gallery was going to have to find a new location by the end of February.

The cooperative was founded by Eaves, a jeweler, along with fellow jeweler Pat Jones, and Eaves’ daughter Michaela Eaves, an artist who draws in pen and ink. All three founders are still members of the co-op.

“We were giving all our work away to family and friends and thought it would be great to found an artists cooperative where the artists could take home 100% of their sales in exchange for working a couple of days a month and sharing rent and expenses,” Pia Eaves said. “That’s a very good benefit for artists who would otherwise see consignment arrangements taking 40 to 60%.”

The Kalispell Hotel was hosting artists during the popular Kalispell Christmas Art Walks and the women decided to ask longtime owners Janet and Butch Clark if they would be interested in housing their shop.

“It was winter and they weren’t as busy, so they gave us the space that had been the hotel’s original breakfast room,” Eaves said. “We had a great location and they have been so good to us over the years.”

With rents in downtown Kalispell starting at $2,500 for most of the larger properties — many extend from Main Street to the alley in back — finding a location on Main Street would have been a challenge, Eaves said, however, they found a new location right downtown only a block from their current gallery, at 16 First St. W.

And downtown is where the gallery wants to stay.

Rent will double for the cooperative, Eaves said, and a few of the dozen or so artists, many of whom are retired, likely will not move to the new location. But Eaves is hopeful new artists will join and she’s already seen interest. She encourages any interested artists to get in touch with her.

“We are exclusively Flathead Valley artists and people like to buy from local artists,” Eaves said. “They enjoy seeing something be created by one of us in the shop because we can work on our art there.”

Eaves remembers the day she sold her first piece years ago.

“I got a call from the member who was working that day, telling me my first piece had sold and that it was going to Alaska. It’s so much fun to know where a piece is going.”

Look for Paint, Metal & Mud in its new location, 104 First St. E., around the first week of March.

Community Editor Carol Marino may be reached at 758-4440 or community@dailyinterlake.com.