EASTHAMPTON — Amy Johnquest and Stacy Waldman rely on their eye for the whimsical beauty in everyday life to make a living. And now the artist and photo dealer have united in a single storefront on Cottage Street.
Inside Spot 22 at 22 Cottage St., visitors are invited to take a look at oddities crafted by Johnquest, who makes “sideshow-esque” custom-painted banners under the “BannerQueen” moniker, and other quirky pieces curated by Waldman, who collects and sells vintage snapshots, photographs and ephemera under the House of Mirth name.
“We have a compatible blend of work,” said Johnquest, 57, of Holyoke.
Waldman, 53, of Easthampton, said Spot 22 is a place where there is something for everyone and people can come to get inspired.
The back two-thirds of the space is a workshop area for the women. The front third is a gallery showroom open to the public.
There, pieces range from $1 – the price of one of the hundreds of individual photos spread out by Waldman – to $2 – the price of a refrigerator magnet designed by Johnquest – to thousands of dollars for the most expensive pieces by either woman.
While Spot 22 could help bring their work to a wider audience, Johnquest and Waldman are far from new on the block. Both have been involved in their respective fields since the 1990s and they make a living from their work.
They met several years ago when Waldman happened across a whole-room art installation by Johnquest that was on display at Eastworks. They quickly became pals.
“We both had this dream that we wanted a storefront,” Johnquest said. “I always wanted my own storefront to do installations.”
“I never thought it would happen,” Waldman said. “It feels right. It feels like it was meant to be.”
Waldman grew up in the business of old stuff. Her parents were antique dealers.
Shortly after eBay launched, Waldman in 1996 decided to take her parents’ trade online, selling mostly jewelry on the website.
“One time I went to an auction and bought a box of old photos,” she said. “I was hooked.”
Today, Waldman’s photo collections are literally saved from the trash. She buys seemingly mundane lots of photos, many simple snapshots or family portraits, at flea markets and antique shops and scours them to find hidden gems.
One collection on display at Spot 22 features over a dozen primitive selfies taken by one young woman, apparently as she waited for a gentleman caller. The Polaroids feature the woman with varying countenances and are captioned “Is he coming over here?” “laughing,” and “suspicious” among other titles.
“I like quirky stuff,” Waldman said. “Some people don’t think they’re worth anything … I know what’s worth money.”
Other pieces are of an older vintage like the rack of Photomatic prints –photo-booth snapshots popular in the 1930s and 1940s that are mounted on metal, colored frames. She also deals in daguerreotypes – the first commercially-successful photography medium, where photos are mounted on mirror-like plates.
“The thing with Stacy, she has a very good eye,” Johnquest said. “She picks something out of a pile and knows it’s exquisite.”
Waldman said she hopes people will come to Spot 22 to sell their unwanted photos with the hope that she’ll nab her next big find.
As for the name House of Mirth, Waldman said while she is an Edith Wharton fan, she aims to bring happiness to people through her photos.
“That’s how I think about it – I get to spread the joy,” she said. “Every day you’re looking at something different.”
Johnquest, too, finds joy in the seemingly mundane.
Besides her work creating banners, she has recently ventured into working with found art, including painting on 19th-century cabinet cards culled from Waldman’s photo collection, and embellishing objects, such as wooden carvings, found at thrift stores.
“We’re giving things another life,” Johnquest said. “We’re both working with discard piles, basically.”
But much of Johnquest’s work continues to be commissioned banners done in a style reminiscent of circus promotional material, complete with bold text and bright colors. Say, for instance, someone wants a banner painted to commemorate their dog. She’ll meet with Fido and his owner and hear stories about the canine in order to develop a concept.
While she’s always created art, Johnquest’s professional life started as a page and graphics designer for newspapers after earning her degree in fine art. She got her start making window displays for Downtown Sounds in Northampton, when she had her “eureka moment” that she was meant to be “BannerQueen.”
She also does commercial work, including for Bruce Springsteen’s 2004 tour, promotional material for author Tom Robbins’ tour for “Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life,” and the Holyoke Hummus food truck, whose vehicle she painted.
She created one banner for meat company Applegate Farms that played off a company motto regarding not having elephants in the room. Waldman envisioned a pachyderm on its hind legs in a living room, flanked by the text “There is no elephant.”
“I do art and design,” she said. “I walk that fine line between fine art and commercial work.”
Everything she does is hand-painted, “strictly low-tech,” without the help of computer software, she said.
Spot 22’s grand opening will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 23. It is regularly open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and otherwise by appointment “or by chance.”
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.