After seven years of bringing fun and accessible art to the Decatur art scene, the ArtFarm prepares for its last hurrah.
The ArtFarm’s owner, Peggy Ankrom-Baity, has made the decision to close on May 31st.
But Ankrom-Baity believes that the business couldn’t have ended on a better note.
“There’s no lack of hustle, there’s no lack of talent, [and] there’s no lack of visitors to the store,” Ankrom-Baity said. “We are still chugging along at an incredible rate of speed, and I think we succeeded [in our goal] tenfold.”
The inspiration for the shop was to invoke creativity and good vibes while working to make the lives of local artists easier by lifting the stress of selling their work and making it easier to find.
The decision to close was based on personal change and economic uncertainty. Due to rising prices, the only choice would have been to charge artists more money during a time when they are also facing the impact of rising costs.
Ankrom-Baity shared that she didn’t have the heart to charge her artists—or farmers, as she calls them—more money. If she did, they would have to raise their prices, which would, in turn, impact customers.
But money was never the goal for her.
“I feel my greatest sense of accomplishment is feeling like I created a bit of a community,” Ankrom-Baity said. “I would like to think I’ve made a very safe, warm space, and that’s my biggest takeaway. That’s my biggest success over anything monetary.”
Despite the nearness of closing day, there is a lot to look forward to in the next few weeks. Many of the products have been marked down and are being sold at a discounted rate. Ankrom-Baity also hopes to have a closing party and bring in as many new faces as possible before she closes shop.
“I would love for, towards the end of June, to throw another big street party,” she said. “I would like to address everyone and thank everyone, and I think partying in the street is a good way to do that. I want to be face-to-face with people one more time before I lock the door.”
The ArtFarm sells art made entirely by local artists. Currently, they represent 115 local artists. One artist who has been there since the beginning is Sheryl Polley.
Polley sells painted rocks. Her “Bee Kind” rocks can be found in all 50 states and 52 countries. For her, The ArtFarm is what allowed her to have such a large platform.
“She has given all these artists a connection with people that didn’t even know about us,” Polley said. “[There are] a lot of artists in here that were hiding, and she gave us confidence to say, ‘I think I am an artist, and I can do this.’”
Ankrom-Baity wants to make sure to boost the artist’s work as much as possible so that people know where to shop for their work going forward. This sentiment makes the local art community stronger.
“What made me an artist is [coming] in here, [having] a place to sell my stuff, [and getting] a following,” Polley said. “Because it started here. They know me now. They know everybody here now.”
Ankrom-Baity will continue to engage with customers on social media (The ArtFarm Decatur on Facebook and Instagram). The amount of diversity that has been showcased within the walls of the shop over the years has opened up doors for artists and small business owners alike, and she will continue to support them as much as possible.
“There are so many different beliefs and opinions between this 115 [artist] collective and our customer collective, and none of that really matters because we’re all bonded together just through kindness and creativity and everything that that begets,” Ankrom-Baity said.
This closing marks the end of an era, not just for Ankrom-Baity and her artist family, but for the community.
She wants to be clear that she is not leaving the community. She just needs time to regroup, but will return to the art world in some way, shape, or form.
“I haven’t let off the gas, not for a second,” Ankrom-Baity said. “So I need to let off the gas for a while and pull into the station and refuel, and then I’ll be back out on the drag strip.”
