Our company was quietly and, quite surprisingly, founded at my dining room table. I began painting over a decade ago in the margins of my time and energy, with a toddler on my hip and a baby on the way. Watercolor was a medium that I could start and finish in one sitting, and it gave some dimension and accomplishment to what were otherwise my very mundane and slow days of early motherhood. I continued to quietly paint, selling paintings for $20 to friends, and then friends of friends.

After about 4 years of this cultivation stage, I began offering my work more regularly to the public at art markets and online. I quickly knew that I wanted to expand the scope of my work from just paper and print to multiple surfaces. I began painting on ceramics, and creating textiles, continually diversifying my product offerings, while retaining the artistic feel of my original works. As business grew, I gradually began adding to my tiny but mighty team of women. All 8 of us are doing this part time, as we manage very full lives of multiple other creative endeavors, motherhood, and community partnerships. This group of women, who so gracefully balance the delicate calls of their lives, has become the sweet, enduring, tinseled thread of Whitney Winkler Art. (I wouldn't have it any other way.) As we moved forward in our goals to serve our customers with moving, lovely art and fine craftsmanship, we saw a natural next step to be a brick and mortar shop.

We opened our location in the Broad Avenue Arts District of Midtown, Memphis Tennessee in the late summer of 2021, and we aren't looking back. This space has been home to so much more than my working studio and art gallery. These walls have held events, cultivated creative conversations that empower our community, and have expanded to sell creations from other small, mostly women-owned handmade companies. We think it is a sweet and curated space, full of light and art.

Moving forward, we always talk about the simple goal of wanting to continue to bring art into the world in the same way we've done for years, but just seek to continue to do it better. Because this whimsical company was a bit of a stumbled- upon happy accident, we are always continually improving systems and processes, and working to better connect with our dedicated collector base. We hope that when you encounter my art, or the team creations that stem from it, you feel the warmth and beauty that we seek to bring.