Two new artists are moving onto Main Street Berlin, and in one convenient location.
As soon as next month, the doors are expected to open on 16 North Main Street, upstairs, between JJFish and Ta Da, on Brian Robertson’s Berlin Printery and Caroline Forrester’s CFD Fine Jewelry shop.
Robertson, a graphic designer for a local marketing firm, will both create and sell his work in the space using a pair of vintage letterpresses. He described his work as “retro,” drawing inspiration from old architecture and the art deco movement, but with a “contemporary twist.”
“I’ll do some posters and some vintage post cards and prints. I’ll be building inventory this whole entire year basically,” he said, adding that some of it would be “Berlin-related.”
“It could be hand-cut linoleum, screen-printed posters, or something that looks like an old map of Berlin,” he said. “Stuff like that.”
When Robertson heard Forrester was eager to make the move from a similar background in design to more handmade fare, he envisioned her as a perfect partner for a collaborative shop.
“I knew her through the graphic design circle and some mutual friends,” he said. “Somebody told me she was making jewelry now instead of doing design, and I said, ‘perfect!’ Jewelry – printmaking – it should go together well,” Robertson said.
Forrester formerly worked at Burley Oak as the lead graphic designer, creating everything from band posters to the artwork currently seen on cans of Burley Oak beer.
“I’m excited to have a space to work in, because I’ve grown out of my garage,” she said. “I’m really just developing my first line. That’s why I’m so excited to get into this space – to just finally sit down and make my first jewelry line.”
Her primary media are silver and metalsmithing. She “loves” working with gold, but is often deterred by the high cost of the materials.
“I’ve always loved metal,” Forrester said. “I remember in grade school we had a project to recreate a famous work of art, and the teacher was expecting watercolor or pencil or something, but I made an Alexander Calder sculpture out of sheet metal.”
Forrester said she would take custom orders, but hopes the majority of her income derives from her own line of original jewelry.
Both artists hope to be open by February or March – the sooner the better.
“It’s just a matter of finishing painting the walls, getting my jeweler’s bench set up and I can go to town,” Forrester said.
For Robertson, the goal is to become sustainable in his original creations.
“Make a living selling art – that’s the main goal,” Robertson said. “I have no idea where we go in the future. We’ll see, I guess.
“Berlin is a good place to be,” he continued. “It’s starting to build an identity around the arts and get more of a reputation. More people are moving in and younger business owners are taking over. It’s a fun time, and it’s opening up more creative avenues for artists.”
Forrester has similar, if albeit slightly loftier goals.
“Ideally, I’d love to have my stuff in boutiques across the world,” she said. “There are certain shops that I love in New York and San Francisco and Seattle and all over that host all these other jewelers that I’m obsessed with at the moment. My goal is to be amongst them.”
As soon as next month, the doors are expected to open on 16 North Main Street, upstairs, between JJFish and Ta Da, on Brian Robertson’s Berlin Printery and Caroline Forrester’s CFD Fine Jewelry shop.
Robertson, a graphic designer for a local marketing firm, will both create and sell his work in the space using a pair of vintage letterpresses. He described his work as “retro,” drawing inspiration from old architecture and the art deco movement, but with a “contemporary twist.”
“I’ll do some posters and some vintage post cards and prints. I’ll be building inventory this whole entire year basically,” he said, adding that some of it would be “Berlin-related.”
“It could be hand-cut linoleum, screen-printed posters, or something that looks like an old map of Berlin,” he said. “Stuff like that.”
When Robertson heard Forrester was eager to make the move from a similar background in design to more handmade fare, he envisioned her as a perfect partner for a collaborative shop.
“I knew her through the graphic design circle and some mutual friends,” he said. “Somebody told me she was making jewelry now instead of doing design, and I said, ‘perfect!’ Jewelry – printmaking – it should go together well,” Robertson said.
Forrester formerly worked at Burley Oak as the lead graphic designer, creating everything from band posters to the artwork currently seen on cans of Burley Oak beer.
“I’m excited to have a space to work in, because I’ve grown out of my garage,” she said. “I’m really just developing my first line. That’s why I’m so excited to get into this space – to just finally sit down and make my first jewelry line.”
Her primary media are silver and metalsmithing. She “loves” working with gold, but is often deterred by the high cost of the materials.
“I’ve always loved metal,” Forrester said. “I remember in grade school we had a project to recreate a famous work of art, and the teacher was expecting watercolor or pencil or something, but I made an Alexander Calder sculpture out of sheet metal.”
Forrester said she would take custom orders, but hopes the majority of her income derives from her own line of original jewelry.
Both artists hope to be open by February or March – the sooner the better.
“It’s just a matter of finishing painting the walls, getting my jeweler’s bench set up and I can go to town,” Forrester said.
For Robertson, the goal is to become sustainable in his original creations.
“Make a living selling art – that’s the main goal,” Robertson said. “I have no idea where we go in the future. We’ll see, I guess.
“Berlin is a good place to be,” he continued. “It’s starting to build an identity around the arts and get more of a reputation. More people are moving in and younger business owners are taking over. It’s a fun time, and it’s opening up more creative avenues for artists.”
Forrester has similar, if albeit slightly loftier goals.
“Ideally, I’d love to have my stuff in boutiques across the world,” she said. “There are certain shops that I love in New York and San Francisco and Seattle and all over that host all these other jewelers that I’m obsessed with at the moment. My goal is to be amongst them.”