By Ashby Day
What exactly is an artifact? Merriam-Webster offers simply, “an object made by a human being.” But that’s only half the appeal behind shopping at Carytown’s Modern Artifacts.
Owners Bill and Sharon Montgomery have long shared a passion for curation and a contemporary aesthetic, and it’s their mutual urbane taste that comprises the other half of the shop’s allure. Featuring handmade items by artists, photographers, and craftsmen from around the U.S., the duo has created a retail space that offers one-of-a-kind housewares, décor, and gifts.
Hand-blown glass vases glisten on sleek shelves and collections of paintings adorn the white walls, and though you’ll find a refined atmosphere and museum-worthy pieces, you won’t find museum price tags. Nor will you find a stuffy environment unfit for children. The kids’ section, playfully named “Zig Zag Tag” by Bill and Sharon’s daughter, is one of the store’s most successful collections.
“Honestly, we didn’t see the need for another gallery in Richmond. There are so many wonderful ones here already,” Sharon says. “What was missing was…a place for modern, handmade, and reasonably priced goods for sale.”
Modern Artifacts opened its doors a year ago, and the couple couldn’t have chosen a better time or place to make their space. The introduction of sites such as Etsy enabled a cultural perception shift for handcrafted goods in the marketplace, spurring what some call a “maker movement.” Bill and Sharon are happy to be a part of it. “The movement has become so strong; it’s dynamic and sophisticated. There are people out there who are creating their own jobs. They’re doing things they’re passionate about, which usually means they’re good at it,” says Sharon.
Richmond boasts a whole slew of these passionate, talented artisans, many of whom Bill and Sharon work with regularly. For sale at Modern Artifacts you’ll find a variety of goods by the city’s own: photography by Bill Dickinson, ties from Christie Thompson at Richmond Thread Lab, hand-blown glass by Ryan Gothrup, jewelry by Aoko Su designer Ashley Jerman, and graphic art from Holly Sullivan and Matt Cheadle, just to name a few.
Not only did the opening of Modern Artifacts coincide with the early whispers of the maker movement, it also meshed with the democratization of modern design.
“We’re looking at this junction of the maker movement paired with people’s realization that they can realistically live with modern design,” Sharon says. “It’s not necessarily something you can’t afford; it’s not necessarily something that’s overly sterile or unwelcoming – it’s actually great for families with children. We hit this intersection of art and commerce at the right time.”
Thus far, Richmonders seem to have an appetite for these modern, delightful artifacts. Having moved from Washington, D.C. to Richmond in 2010, Bill and Sharon have enjoyed getting to know local clientele. “We find there’s a sophisticated market here … people who are well-educated and who like modern design, people who appreciate that our products are made here in the U.S.,” Bill says.
It doesn’t hurt that Bill and Sharon spend hours hand-selecting the items they sell. They make a habit of choosing products that Richmonders won’t find elsewhere – never “poaching” from other stores. When it comes to their criteria, there are two questions they ask before purchasing: “Would we buy it for ourselves, and would we buy it for a gift?”
Those two questions knock out other conditions. “If we’ve answered ‘yes’ to those questions, that also takes care of others like: Is the price-value quotient there, does it fit with our aesthetic, is the presentation good, is it useful – and if not, is it beautiful enough to overcome the fact that it’s not useful?”
With an effective business model in place, Modern Artifacts is right at home in Carytown and has become a home for well-designed, high-quality handmade goods. “We love the relationships with our customers,” Bill says, “and we enjoy promoting the artistic world by helping talented artists sell well-made products.”