STOKING THE SENSES
Ocean water had an impact on Cameron Howard.
The local creative spent time on beaches as a child, picked up surfing at 24 years old and learned photography on shorelines.
Recently, the photographer made a transition from Pacific shores to the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The owner of Live For Blu Gallery recently signed a lease on Sherman Avenue to open an art gallery, wine bar and local music venue.
LiveforBlu Gallery + Wine Bar, in the 500 block between Studio 107 and Fine Brewed Coffee, will open for business tentatively around the second or third Friday of August, Howard said.
The mixture of wine, fine art and live music defines the space, he said. It’s intended to be a creative location that invokes the senses.
The art gallery initially will host mostly his own oceanic and landscape photography, but he said he intends to open his doors to the creative community.
“That’s another question that’s spinning in my mind. Do I bring in painters, sculptors? What style? Is it going to be Western? Coeur d’Alene? I don’t know yet,” Howard said. “I kind of envision ... a big collaborative space with the best artists in town.”
Howard said he, himself, prepared to launch this entrepreneurial effort with the help of local business resources available for the artistic community.
He learned some fundamentals of building a business through Creative Enterprise, and received educational mentorship from Buddy Le, co-owner of Coeur d’Alene Galleries, and Ryan Arnold, director of regional entrepreneurial strategy at North Idaho College.
Creative Enterprise is a Spokane-based program launched to support local creatives by providing in-depth professional development, one-on-one
coaching, business resources and low-cost space for up to six months in targeted areas.
“I think they were kind of a catalyst because I knew exactly what I wanted to do ahead of time,” Howard said.
He said he created a business plan, developed his value proposition and learned high-level business objectives with the aid of the Creative Enterprise program.
Arnold said the program pairs mentors and business figures with artist-entrepreneurs in the area to learn how to turn their passion into a profit-driven model.
He said he’s paired with local creative business owners like Blair Williams, owner of The Art Spirit Gallery, to extend resources to the local community.
“At the end of the day we see creativity as the driver of innovation and entrepreneurship … but creativity can live anywhere. Whether that’s a baker, an artist, a gallery owner, we need to support those industries,” Arnold said. “It’s not just about high-tech, high-growth, it’s about what makes this city and this culture vibrant.”
Howard said his business outcome will require time, but even if it means dealing with the headache of permits and paperwork, opening this location is a dream.
“Work at it until it happens. For me, it’s knowing that it’s a lifetime-long process … Honestly, I think this is my five-year plan, 10-year plan,” he said. “We’re knocking it all out at once.”