Gallery Feature: Quirks of Art
For a few years, the one-of-a-kind store Quirks of Art has become one of our best galleries, bringing Spiritiles into its fold of eccentric handmade craft and sharing them with the community of Williamsburg, VA. When you walk into Quirks of Art, you walk into a world all its own. Quirks prides itself on being unlike any other store you’ll visit.Originally opened as Kinks, Quirks & Caffeine, owner Jennifer Raines took her wild vision of a fun and funky world full of contemporary American craft and turned it into more than just a store.
Jennifer started Kinks, Quirks, and Caffeine in 1997 as a shop that would fuse the love of art with a fun and whimsical style. In its early years, the store was credited in helping Williamsburg obtain the honor of a "Top 25 Arts Destination" by American Style Magazine.After 13 years of business as Kinks, Quirks, and Caffeine, Jennifer closed her store in 2010, relocated and rebranded to become ‘Quirks of Art.’ It was a risky move, but it paid off by rejuvenating her business during the economic downturn.
Quirks moved to a highly visible and desirable location for both tourists and locals. Jennifer rebranded her store to create a culture that followed the tagline, “Be Unique… Buy Unique.”
She has worked tirelessly to promote and rally enthusiasm for American handcrafted goods throughout her store and among her community. She has created a niche for fresh contemporary art styles in an area primarily dominated by Colonial art. Quirks of Art sets out to live its tagline – to both be, and buy unique.Some have described Quirks as “a delightful mini-vacation.” The store takes you into a world full of the unique, fun, and whimsical, and you leave feeling part of its community.But you don’t have to be in the store to take part in Quirks culture – Jenn has created an online experience all its own through Facebook, Twitter, and her website. Quirks’ Facebook page is a buzz of activity with several thousand followers engaging in its offers, events, contests, and updates. Joining Quirks’ page is like joining a family of unique art lovers, coming together to support American craft.
How do we know Quirks of Art and Spiritiles work so well together? We made a list:
1) We both bring dogs to work
2) We paint our walls a color other than white
3) We support buying local, buying handmade, and being awesome
If you live around Williamsburg, or if you find yourself in the area, or if you just want to take a “mini-vacation”, drop in at Quirks of Art, stay awhile, pet their dogs Zack, Henry, and Ginger, give a big hug to Jenn and all her staff, and check out their awesome Spiritile wall!
Quirks of ArtThe Shops @ High Street
1430 High Street #709
Williamsburg, VA 23185
757-645-4366
www.kinksandquirks.com
