I feel as though humble beginnings are some of the absolute best. I could say that this was a long time coming, however the reality is that I doubt any of us can truly anticipate what will really unfold in life. Actually, procuring a Photographic Fine Art Gallery of my own was always on my mind, however, it wasn’t in my immediate short-term plans. With competition for space in downtown Laguna Beach so fierce and great property locations such a rare commodity, I dared not hold my breath and for good reason! Tenants here often hold onto their spaces for decades, often becoming facets to the town for indefinite periods of time.
It truly wasn’t a regular thought on my mind until one day my father had called me and mentioned that a space recently opened up in a key location that would be a perfect opportunity for my new gallery. It was only then that my mind began to race with ideas!
I, like many of you, consider myself a very motivated and ambitious person. I wake up every day with a fire in my belly that hungers for progress and strives for greatness in everything that I put my hands on. I never allow myself to make excuses and if you were to speak with anyone in my inner circle, they would tell you that I am at times overly critical of myself. Rarely will I ever call something a success as I simply always push for more! Opening a gallery was much of the same within myself and for so many reasons, the reason why I absolutely had to take control of the moment and seize this fantastic opportunity!
The interesting part about seeing the business side of things through is that often other competing businesses are rarely in favor of you coming to town. In addition, getting past all of the red tape can be an absolutely daunting factor in having the courage to open your own doors and even more, put your name and reputation on the building. Laguna Beach is very proud of its small-town vibe and cottage like charm and that aspect of the town is fiercely protected. When I had initially inquired about opening a gallery, I was all but told it would be impossible to open another art gallery in the downtown sector of Laguna. Because of market saturation the decision makers on the board remain determined to have an overall mix of different businesses to offer both residents and tourists more of a retail selection. That being said, those first meetings where I experienced so much resistance made me even more determined to see my dream come to fruition. With those roadblocks I began to evaluate what my value proposition truly was, not only to the community but to the millions of visitors who flock here each year. Fast forward to my final committee meeting at the Laguna Beach Chamber. I took to the podium and with a full heart pled my reasoning for being allowed to contribute to the small town of Laguna Beach. By expressing my passion and love of this community I left the meeting that evening with a full vote of approval and as they say, the rest is history!
We broke ground on construction and the dreamworks began. Breaking ground and the physical labor creating new walls, rooms and display elements, down to every detail I had put in place, was really the moment the reality set in and I knew in my heart that this Fine Art gallery would exceed all the expectations I had originally envisioned. I cannot really say that I was all that nervous though, I felt as though it was simply the next step to advancing what it was that I was meant to do with my life. Being an artist was something that I hadn’t chosen necessarily, I feel like artistry ran deep within me since before I could talk. Expressing my thoughts and emotions through creative rendering was my most desired means of communication; saying something without speaking a single word became the center of my creative core.
Our culture within the organization has really remained well aligned with family values and the entrepreneurial spirit. We have created a brand that delivers front and center a true connection to the outdoors fostered from within. Our team is comprised of leaders within their respective categories such as proprietary, archival reproductive printing methods, all the way to our senior leadership that has been at the pinnacle of the fine art world for decades. Our best in class sales team is comprised of very well educated and well-versed consultants which direct traffic and delegate highly regarded relationships with mhfa clientele from around the world.
Home Range
This gallery has allowed for my artistry to communicate a message brought forward by the earth to many more people through imagery that evokes and captures emotion much deeper than ever before possible. By garnering a platform large enough to create a worldwide presence, we have been able to expose these photographic works or art to a broader reaching array of collectors. Even though I am grateful to have a rapidly growing social media brand and thousands of collectors around the world over the last couple of decades now, there is simply nothing that can come close to seeing and experiencing these artworks in person. As a result of all of these factors coming together in such a perfectly aligned way, this gallery becoming a reality really just made sense and hence the mhfa flagship gallery was born.
After a few years the gallery began to feel much like a fixture of Laguna Beach and now we have many regular and new visitors on a daily basis. One thing that simply never gets old is watching people come through our doors and marveling at the natural beauty of our Mother Earth! I am humbled on a daily basis to see the very real connection that we all share with our world and how deeply impacted people are with the beauty and majesty that surrounds us.
Laguna Beach has always been an art mecca in my eyes. With year-round balmy weather, lots of sunshine and miles upon miles of sandy beaches stretched up and down the coast; there really isn’t a better setting for such a place! Laguna has a charm unto itself that I simply haven’t felt in any other place. All I can say is that you must visit for yourself and that it really is a vibe that absolutely must be experienced!
The gallery has now become our flagship location and these days it is a hub for all of our brand ambassadors, Interior Designers as well as industry partners. We often have closed door events for our curators and hosted designer functions as well as private showings to upscale clientele from around the globe! We have positioned ourselves as the premier Fine Art Photography gallery on the West coast, offering artworks in edition numbers that simply cannot be touched by most commercial fine art enterprises. What we offer is much more exclusive and far more customizable than any other offering on the open market. It has certainly been an exciting road and one that has had many challenges to navigate, however anything worthwhile is said to have such instances and I for one am humbled that we have garnered such an incredible collector base. This journey of life and its pursuits of passion have always been the cornerstone of self-invention for me and I am happy that I am able to spread a message that can be felt from around the world in a way by which artwork can become the common means of communication without words. Photographic Fine Art is a way to connect us all in a meaningful manner, one which allows us to go deeper into our psyche and open ourselves up to a greater, more appreciative sense of being. In many ways allowing us to operate among an audience connected on a higher vibration, one of which compels me to delve deeper into the frequencies of life and beyond, one where we further ourselves from that of construct and into the realm of the spirit.