American Artists MANUFACTURE American product

Arts on Union in Middletown, PA

Recent news articles lament the loss of American manufacturers and indicate the will of Americans to buy American. We are all for this because our workers, our little factory in Central   Pennsylvania, honors, preserves and advances an American tradition - MANUFACTURING.

Our artists and artisans make product with their own hands. When those artists are held to rigorous standards, such as those under which Christine Goldbeck and Elaine Brady-Smith work as members of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, buyers are assured of quality and, along with quality, a product that is one-of-a-kind or in small number. We DO NOT mass produce stuff with shoddy materials. Often, we buy our materials regionally, too, knowing that when we support our suppliers, we are helping the local, regional, state and national economy.

The Mixed Media Art Group and the Daily Painters of Pennsylvania are two other little factories whose members work with their hands, heads and heart to make top-quality, original work.

Christine Goldbeck, MFA-IA, works in her studio. 

Please support them. Shop local. Buy American. Buy Pennsylvanian.

Stop by Arts on Union in Middletown for open studio on Saturdasy and Sundays through January 26th, 2013. Mixed Media Art Group members are at our place making and selling their work.  Saturday Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday's the door is open from noon to five.

For a private viewing the Mixed Media Art Group exhibition, please contact us.

Would PA Go for this?

Rhode Island: Lieutenant Governor Roberts Launches Buy Local Arts Initiative

Providence Business News, 2/15/10
"Lt. Gov. Elizabeth H. Roberts kicked off what she says will be a month-long effort to promote her 'buy local' arts initiative in Rhode Island on [February 15]. Roberts used an advocacy training session organized by Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts to fight proposed state budget cuts as the occasion to deliver a short pep talk to about 30 participants. Buying local, Roberts said, is a good investment in small businesses in Rhode Island. 'There are 2,000 small businesses in the arts that employ 12,000 people,' she said. She characterized the money spent by the government to support such arts entrepreneurs as local stimulus money...She cited the importance of the arts as an income generator, referring to a 2007 study, which found that arts and culture generated more than $100 million a year to the Providence economy." http://bit.ly/byevnl

This is a great idea! Anyone care to help me talk this concept up in the Commonwealth of PA?

Please Buy Local

Arts on Union buys as much of its materials as possible from businesses in the local and regional marketplace. In addition to art and photo supplies, this includes food and beverage for openings and receptions, flowers and landscaping materials (more flowers). It makes sense to buy from local establishments, especially locally independent entrepreneurs, because most of your money stays in the local economy.

Please, if you are receiving the Making Work Pay provision from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), please spend those few extra dollars per week at locally-owned, independent businesses, including Arts on Union, which sells art (photos, cards, paintings, jewelry) across a broad price range and promotes the work of local and regional artists.

During 2009 and 2010, the Making Work Pay provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will be seen in the form of a refundable tax credit averaging up to $400 for individuals, and up to $800 for married taxpayers filing jointly, according to statistics released by the IRS. The Making Work Pay provision translates to an average increase of $13 per week in take-home pay, per household.

Many people do not realize how positively and significantly spending $13 per week at businesses other than big-box, national chains will affect local economies. An average central business district has about 5,000 households in its trade area receiving the Making Work Pay tax credit. Therefore, if each household spends just $13 per week at locally-owned, independent businesses, this equates to $65,000 per week in additional sales for the local economy. Over a 52-week period, that dollar amount will grow to more than $3 million dollars. The true impact of spending $13 per week locally would be seen in the multiplier effect of local businesses investing their increased revenues back into the community.

There are many statistics out there regarding the ways communities benefit from buying locally,
but one constant is that independent businesses are more likely to buy their own goods and services locally. So, if 60 percent is a middle of the road figure for revenue remaining in the community through secondary purchases, then the $3 million figure increases to $5 million over the same one-year period.

Arts on Union thanks the Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC) for its initial press release on the stimulus provision and the Greater Middletown Economic Development Corporation (GMEDC) for sharing the information.

Founded in 1987, the mission of Pennsylvania Downtown Center is to advance the sense of place, quality of life and economic vitality of Pennsylvania’s downtowns, traditional neighborhood districts and nearby residential neighborhoods. Likewise, the GMEDC has a vision and when shoppers buy locally, they help to fulfill the plan for a vibrant community.