Featured Work: A Niche Greater then the Sum of its Parts
The Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “niche” as:
- a recess in a wall especially for a statue b: something (as a sheltered or private space) that resembles a recess in a wall
- a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted
- a habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or species
- the ecological role of an organism in a community especially in regard to food consumption
- a specialized market
What is the connective tissue between the various definitions above? It seems to me that the term “niche” indicates a unique space specific to an individual, species or thing.
Those of us in the fields of decorative painting, carpentry, wood working, design, architecture and building most likely have designed, created, built, painted or adorned a niche or two at one point or another.
Those of us in our own businesses, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, creative-preneurs, creators, and those of us training, schooling, learning, job-searching, job creating , or job holding, have at least one thing in common: we want, need, or are compelled to “find our niche“, our “place” in our respective fields, professions, markets, companies, schools, programs, jobs, or careers. We are moved to find that elusive (and sometimes colorful!) unique space which seems to defines us authentically, in our worlds of work, family, society, and community.
Abby Kerr, copywriter, blogger, niche marketer, and owner of Abby Kerr Ink says of her work: “It’s about nichifying your offerings to meet your right people right where they are.” . Within the “niche” business model, the proposition of uniqueness in gifts, talents, voice, sensibilities, skills, and offerings would seem to be a given.
So it is with Clients, who wish to express themselves by making something even more unique of their architectural niche space, at home.
Beloved Clients of mine purchased a “dream” retirement home…well, a house they planned to transform with color, design, furnishings, and decorative painting INTO their dream home, with the skilled assistance of various vendors.
Their realtor suggested a mural application for the hitherto unadorned wine bar niche, and the game was on!
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Niche before "niche-y" adornment
My Clients had spent decades living in Southern California, and were enchanted by the Sonoma Wine Country in which their new house was situated. They were thrilled about making the Wine Country a theme in their new home.
We chatted about vineyard scenes, and determined we didn’t want a “prototypical” one. We looked at photos, colors, applications and mock-ups. We determined that a softly rendered scene of lines of vines gently receding to meet misty hills under a golden sky would be best. I applied the mural with semi-transparent washes of glaze, as opposed to opaque paints, (an unusual approach) to the back wall of the niche, and glazed its side walls and ceiling in layers of red wine-y colors. Involved with the whole process from start to finish, my Clients were delighted with the outcome. which reflected THEM, and the unique place they were at in their lives, right at that moment.
"Niche-y" adornment reflects Them
The entire wall into which the “niche-y” Wine Bar niche was placed was treated in concert with its “niche-y” focal point, the Vineyard mural. The walls were painted a strong red, mitigated by an application of three deeper red “wine-y” hued glazes applied simultaneously. An original “adage” penned by the Clients was lettered in “grapey” purple, and sparkling metallic colors. The built-in cabinetry and bottle storage were base painted and wood grained (treated with “faux bois”) in tones of “sweet rosy brown” , which worked beautifully with the bar’s countertop.
The Niche is part of the Whole
My Clients were pleased with a result which reflected Them, and their unique take on where they felt themselves to be, right at that moment. The process of developing a “niche-y” design of artful applications in their Wine Bar niche, and throughout their new home during a time of transition helped them through that transition, and eased their way into a new phase of life. You might say that they “niched” their new home to reflect the people they had become, and created a “niche” of the entire house which would support them in their adaptation to retirement, containing and expressing both the effects of their “old” life, and expressing their excitement about the new.
In this way, “nich-ing” can not only become an expression of our deepest selves, our uniqueness, offerings and worth, it can also help us to embrace our lives and experiences as they are now, and move more confidently, and happily, into the future.
When have you used your art or craft to create or enhance a niche, for yourself, or for others? What was the quality of the process and its outcome? If you feel so inspired, please share your unique, “niche-y” experience with us. We love to hear from you. Remember, we are all in this thing called Life, together.
On Ocean…beguiling architecture can be seen…
complete with detail of tile, brick and terracotta.
To the side..wooden shutters and pattern upon pattern,
giving new meaning to “white picket fence”.
As one moves down the walkway from Ocean to beach….one sees more layers, of pattern and material, plants and metal. Santa Monica knows from gates…weathered, imposing, architectural, artsy.
At the bottom of the walkway, is another magnificent building that manages to combine quaintness and stateliness.
More texture. This side faces the beach.
Heading back up the walkway, towards Ocean Street again, one passes more brick, banked with foliage and flowers.
Palms, succulents, flowering plants and a mix of materials soften the concrete.
The walkway weaves its magic…feeling for all the world like a picturesque country lane…
Albeit one with some interesting signs, which betray its origins in the world’s entertainment capitol.
More gates, and a visual archway created.
These could be the gates to an Tuscan Villa, if one didn’t see the Pacific Ocean to the right, directly West.
True to ever artful Santa Monica, brick pattern and mosaic design add just enough visual interest to a garden wall to arrest and entice.
It is no accident that the mosaic design leads our eye to the gate, and what lays behind it.
I turn, to take in the Western view…from where I walked,
than back Eastward, to Ocean, where I am walking to.
Artissima - Blog of ArtiFactory Studio 