Tatum Studios

July 6, 2005

Cali Tatum and Dave Stuursma were quite familiar with the Lake Orion
area -- they‘d spent plenty of time establishing a gallery there in
the northern suburbs of Detroit.  But Northern Michigan was calling, so
the business partners decided to come Up North to see what Petoskey had
to offer.  “Lots of things!“ was the answer, as Tatum Studios co-owner
Stuursma enthuses: “We found that there were not only several open
buildings, but the town was also completely welcoming to art and new
galleries.  It was an easy choice to come up here.“
  Located at 445 East Mitchell Street in Petoskey‘s new “uptown art
district,“ Tatum Studios began with a focus on furniture. They‘re
branching out into other artworks as they discover new artists and
items they‘d like to showcase. 
“We were really established with furniture, but we offer a lot of
other great pieces of art too,“ Stuursma explains, “all of our
furnishings are hand-made and imported from Ecuador, where we work with
basically one furniture maker, Cristian Donoso, who is well known in
South American and Europe.  We have the exclusive U.S. rights to his
work -- we‘re the only ones in America who sell it.“ 

CLASSIC FURNISHINGS
Heavy and carefully crafted, the Donoso furnishings blend in with a
variety of decors. 
“Some missionary friends of ours helped us locate Donoso, and his
work is a favorite in our studios.  We sell the classic furnishings
- tables, beds, dressers, coffee tables - and they‘re all designed with
both Colonial and European design elements.“ 
And, for the environmentally-minded, the woods used in Donoso‘s
works are native to Ecuador, where the government allotments mean that
artists and craftspeople are only allowed two or three cuttings a
month, so they use their resources carefully.
  Tatum Studios offers many other artistic items, both for home and
personal adornment, as well.  Co-owner Cali Tatum makes much of the
studio‘s jewelry herself, and the studio is also in the process of
welcoming more jewelry designers, both local and regional. 
Beaded pieces and jewelry with semi-precious stones are featured,
with Tatum and Stuursma trying to find the most creative items
possible.  Their pottery comes mostly from the famed Pewabic Pottery
factory in Detroit, which is over 100 years old and well-known
throughout Michigan. 
They‘ve started dabbling in artistic clothing, too, including a line
of Vietmanese silk scarves that were originally developed for the Queen
of England. Stuursma‘s sister contributes hand-made soaps to the studio
for yet another different twist.

FOUND OBJECTS
  As far as traditional artwork goes - paintings and collages - there‘s
plenty of that as well.  “We have a special art area for actual
artworks,“ Stuursma points out, “most of the art here is home decor,
but we also want to appeal to the people who appreciate more eclectic
art.  A couple of our newest additions are an artist from Utah who
works in only found objects and who was recently approached by the
Guggenheim in New York for an exhibit, and also a lady who does book
illustrations.  It‘s a pretty interesting mix.“  Tatum Studios will
look at pretty much any form of art for possible inclusion in their
gallery - it‘s more a matter of what strikes them than what‘s
traditionally included in a gallery.  “We have art from all over,“
Stuursma says, “from South Africa to all over the U.S.“ 
  “We‘re still really just getting our feet wet in the artistic
community here,“ he muses, “we‘re really trying to help develop this
block, working with the Artists‘ Market and Crooked Tree Arts Council. 
Ideally, we‘re looking at some possible block parties, maybe evening
hors‘doeuvres with art, and some events similar to the Art Walk that
they already held. We know they‘re really working to get this block to
be considered the city‘s art district.  We‘d like this to be the
‘uptown’ of Petoskey, and we‘re glad to be part of it.“
 
Tatum Studios is located at 445 East Mitchell Street in Petoskey;
phone 248-505-0378.  They can also be found online at
www.tatumstudios.com.