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Creative infusion: Whitewater store promotes inspired way of living

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

In addition to other types of art, The Guild on the Triangle in Whitewater also has a large variety of jewelry available.

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

A seating area at the front of the Guild On The Triangle gallery in Whitewater serves as both a resting spot and display area.

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

The Whitewater gallery, The Guild on the Triangle, has an eclectic inventory of items.

WHITEWATER — Jen Preiss wants people to know it’s OK to act like a 3-year-old sometimes.

“It’s in our nature. It’s part of who we all are. … We want people to be adventurous and use their imaginations,” she said.

Preiss is manager of The Guild on the Triangle—a Whitewater art gallery and shop, a teahouse and wine salon and an incubator for local and regional artisans.

Founder Linda Bricco Schalk said it’s a place where people can feel comfortable and carefree.

“We want to reintroduce that spark, that inspiration into people, into the community,” she said. “We want to encourage them to embrace that part of the human spirit.”

The business at 141 W. Whitewater St. is the reincarnation of the former Leuca Guild of Milton, which opened in 2007 but left in 2009 in search of a richer environment, Schalk said.

The five women who started the niche venture sought an open-minded community with small-town Midwestern values that would support their mission of fostering the creativity in everyone, Preiss said.

“We crave to be involved in the betterment of the area around us,” she said.

The Guild on the Triangle, where the work of more than 70 artisans and craftspeople is on display and for sale, aims to be a place for the community, Schalk said.

“We wanted a place where people could come in and absorb everything we have to offer,” she said.

The women have a philosophy—well, a couple philosophies, actually: to give people the permission to live more inspired and progressive lives and to encourage people to give in to their inner free spirit, Preiss said.

But the women mostly focus on mentoring and marketing local and regional artisans, inspiring and educating people and supporting and improving the community, Schalk said.

The Guild on the Triangle offers a variety of events to encourage people to come together, Schalk said.

There are receptions for the featured artisan of the month. There are wine tasting events. And soon there will be a book club dedicated to the work of local and regional authors with discussions led by the authors themselves.

The women also are working on a way to benefit local nonprofit organizations: The Guild Soiree is a way for groups—gals, guys, service clubs, parent groups or others—to get together and party while raising money for a good cause. People come to the store to sip tea or wine, shop and socialize, and the store donates 10 percent of the sales during the event to the nonprofit of the group’s choice.

The Guild on the Triangle, which opened in November, already has received a positive response from the Whitewater area, Schalk said.

“People get it, and they love it,” she said. “But we know there are more people to reach. We haven’t even started.”