So I went to the MCP today to get in line 2 hours before their sale opened. But there was only one guy with his beach chair reading a book, all set in front of the door. So I got some coffee and walked around and I found some pretty amazing stuff. A cute ceramic and gift shop called two 12. I hung out there for awhile and looked at the humorous gift cards and lovely wooden kitchen utensils. I asked about the local jewelery.
But really I was waiting for this new (it opened in October) furniture store to open at 11am. Called Spinario, they specialize in mid-century modern furniture and artwork! My favorite! It just so happens that the new Apartment Therapy Minneapolis blogger recently posted about them, here. I love this place. I talked to the owners, Peter and Caitlin for almost a half hour about furniture, the MCP closing and art (Caitlin's a painter). Then we all went around the corner to stand in line for the sale again...
When the doors opened and I got inside, it was a free-for-all. I basically grabbed whatever I could gets my hands on and then weeded out my pile later. Apparently I really like photo-collages, so here's another one of all of the sweet books I managed to get:
The pile of books on the left are all signed too! Either by the photographer or George Slade, the former-artistic director (crying omg!) I can't quite remember, it is all such a blur, but I think I saw George wearing a humorous-arts-inspired-graphic-tee and helping to sort everything out in the gallery pre-sale.
I also got two of these red plastic chairs that used to reside in the education spaces of MCP for just three bucks:
But the upside to all of this is that hopefully, the now for lease space will go to another up-and-coming gallery or studio space, I heard gossip of someone thinking of resurrecting a smaller version of the MCP (like back in the day when it was called pARTS and basically just the gallery, no education or bookstore). We will see what the future holds.
(This is where everyone clasps their hands and prays for the not-for-profit Twin Cities arts community of which we are all so dependent on, or at least on which our future careers should be dependent.)
