Flom didn’t see anything available in Canal Park, she explained to Kenneth Albrecht in a phone call as she traveled east on Superior Street.
But then she saw something potentially better.
“Oh my gosh, Art in the Alley isn’t there anymore?” she recalled thinking when she saw the For Lease sign in the window of 230 E. Superior St., former home of the downtown shop that featured art-minded jewelry and clothing. (Art in the Alley remains open at the Miller Hill Mall.)
Five days later, Flom and Albrecht were shown the space — tall ceilings, big windows, 1,500 square feet — and less than a month later, the duo opened a companion store to Yellow Bird Fine Arts in Grand Marais.
“It was very fast,” Albrecht admitted — earlier, in fact, than he had planned.
Quay Flom stands in the Duluth location of Yellow Bird Arts on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
Steve Kuchera / Duluth News Tribune
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Flom is a jewelry maker who began working in the medium because she was having severe allergic reactions to store-bought accessories. She already had an interest in art, but found her niche in wearable art.
“I love playing with fire and metal,” she said. “I like seeing what metal can do. I love gemstones … they’ve been around for millions of years. It started from there and has just grown.”
She and Albrecht connected at a craft sale at Russ Kendall’s Smoke House in Knife River during Julebyan nearly a decade ago. He was a young gemologist who came to the work by way of a grandfather and next-door neighbor. They began collaborating — her jewelry and his stones.
Yellow Bird Arts, seen here Wednesday, July 28, 2021, opened its Duluth shop in May.
Steve Kuchera / Duluth News Tribune
When Albrecht opened his own small gallery, he sold Flom’s pieces and called on her as a business consultant and backup shopkeeper.
In 2020, Albrecht took over Yellow Bird Fine Arts from Ron Piercy. Flom joined up with him for the opening of the Duluth location in late May, driven by the seasonal nature of Grand Marais and road construction that has made it tough to get to the North Shore store.
Now the art partners are eyeing more of a Yellow Bird presence — they have a booth for the Renaissance Festival, and Albrecht is tossing out names of bigger cities and more galleries:
“I want one in Minneapolis, really,” he said. “I’m just going to keep going and see how far it goes: Chicago, New York, L.A. …”
“Of The Earth” by Sarah Brokke is one of the pieces for sale at Yellow Bird Arts.
Steve Kuchera / Duluth News Tribune
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Yellow Bird Fine Art features works by more than 70 northern Midwest artists, mostly painters and sculptors — such as Sarah Brokke, Sue Rauschenfels, Michelle Wegler, Matt Kania, Margie Helstrom and more.
It’s the larger-than-life “Grotto,” a painting by Luke Hillestad that — at 68-by-51 inch dark, figurative and feral piece, that dominates the eastern wall. It’s one of the reasons why the duo wanted a bigger gallery space. The other: To provide space for makers to make and learn.
“(Quay and I) are both working artists,” Albrecht said. “A lot of our employees are working artists. We kind of operate it as an art gallery, but it’s also a studio. It’s not just art for sale; there is art being made here. We’re trying to constantly create a fun environment where there is quality art, but you can see the process.”
To that end, the gallery’s keepers have ordered a 10-person table for the front of the gallery.
Yellow Bird Fine Art
- 101 West Hwy. 61, Grand Marais
- 230 E. Superior St., Duluth
“Daylight” by Sue Rauschenfels is one of the pieces for sale at Yellow Bird Arts.
Steve Kuchera / Duluth News Tribune