Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Lednicky.
Hi Joseph, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
By training and education, I started my career as an electrical engineer at NASA, supporting the space shuttle and mission control center. I continued my higher education by obtaining a Master in Business (MBA) and partial credits in MS Computer Engineering (MSCE). After the shuttle missions were put on hold due to the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy, I decided to switch to private industry where I worked on system designs and on semiconductors. Along the way, with my MBA lighting my Entrepreneurial spirit, I decided to pursue working for high-tech start-up companies where I got to combine my engineering background with business pursuits. In the over 30+ years of working high-tech, I never really got involved as an active\ participant in the visual arts.
In 2017, a family tragedy made me the primary caretaker for my cognitively impaired parents. As anyone who cares for Dementia and Alzheimer’s loved ones knows, the care for such is time-consuming, financially draining, very stressful (some experts compare the stress to that of dealing with a ‘prolonged’ death of a loved one) and essentially forced me to reduce my efforts and commitment to my high tech career. In interacting with other families going through the same ordeals at the care centers. I learned how art and music impacted the patients positively. It was amazing to see patients in wheelchairs who could barely move or speak lighten up, even if it was ever so briefly when presented with music or visual arts images. I give a lot of credit to the social workers who would arrange visual art sessions by bringing coloring instruments, crayons, or paint/brushes and canvases/paper for the cognitively impaired patients to work with. Sometimes, volunteer artists would attend. I would sometimes help those who had limited mobility or were in hospice care, and it would brighten my day when I would see them smile at the images we were trying to create.
During the latter 2 years of providing care, I decided to build a gallery to support the arts and local artists and provide a facility where I could help sell estate items for clients needing the money to pay bills. Building the gallery, in its own way, brought me back to applying my engineering and business training as I had to design and develop the gallery at the least cost. To do so, I used many free reclaimed materials I found on places like Craigslist or Social Marketplaces. The vision for the gallery was a very simple exterior, but when people walked in, they were surrounded by the best local art and fine art pieces from estates.
The grand opening was in May 2022, with a dozen participating artists exhibiting at the gallery. The gallery grew rapidly and now boasts a healthy mix of over 70+ established and up-and-coming participating artists. In addition, the gallery also offers rare and hard-to-find estate and gift items that are sold at discounted prices. This makes the gallery unique: a very simple and non-discrete exterior that houses fabulous art and gift items in a chill and fun atmosphere.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been relatively smooth so far?
When I prepared the business plan for the gallery, I knew that I was getting into a business that is one of the most challenging retail businesses. When the economy sours, the sales of art pieces drop significantly. When the economy improves, the sale of art is one of the last items to recover. Furthermore, the gallery’s location is outside the confines of a growing city. The location is south of Austin and east of Dripping Springs; therefore, it is a low-foot-traffic area. The location was selected as it was the only affordable property that could be purchased to support the cost of constructing the gallery building. Marketing in a low foot traffic area is the biggest obstacle, especially when there are county ordinances that make advertising very difficult (e.g. sign ordinances).
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Primal Gallery?
I presented the answer to this question in the first interview question. Here is supplemental information: Primal Gallery is known for our service to any customer who walks in. We commonly spend an hour with a each customer to help guide and answer any questions they may have on the exhibited art and gift items available for sale. We are proud to be the largest and most diverse gallery in the area that makes available art of every genre at affordable prices and complements the offerings with hard-to-find estate items, gifts (vintage and modern), unusual items, antiques, jewelry, collectibles, and so much more! People walking in always react by saying, “Wow, this place offers so much! Such a hidden gem!”
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
Artists and clients selling wares at the gallery do an excellent job supporting us. Hopefully word of mouth and other mediums of social marketing will highlight the gallery’s presence and unique offerings.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.primalgallery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primalgalleryllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090781482628
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU6Lsek3Qh4j6yOUIOMykrw
