capst-winter-2021-Proof1-52REV - Flipbook - Page 36
Leslie B. Nesbitt, founder and creator of Rhythmic Walls, wears a necklace and holds a purse she made with recycled Goodyear tires. Nebbitt is also
working on a large gold leaf Buddha, shown below.
chairs and settees taken to landfills was
eventually recycled.
“Twelve million tons,” Polucha said.
“That really, really bothers me. It’s insane.”
Local by Design is one of at least three
artists’ collectives in Anne Arundel County
focusing on salvaged materials and local
décor. The Barn Show in the Westfield
Annapolis Mall is open Thursdays through
Sundays, while Gypsy Faire in Lothian is
open one weekend a month.
What sets Local by Design apart isn’t
just its size. In addition to the warehouse
with studio space for more than a dozen
local entrepreneurs, Local By Design also
operates two retail locations on Main
Street and in the Westfield mall showcasing the wares of 115 artisans.
The artists’ collective is modeled on the
business incubator concept. Artists who
may have outgrown the sales opportunities afforded by the online platform Etsy
but who aren’t yet established enough to
operate their own brick-and-mortar stores
36 | fall 2021 | capitalstylemag.com
often flourish when they share studio and
retail space.
The incubator gives the artists the
chance to see if they have a marketable
concept while interacting, and frequently
collaborating with, artists in neighboring
stalls. For instance, when artisan Melanie
Cook found chairs that she knew would be
perfect to accompany a table that Winter
was making, and helped her re-cane them.
“We’ve all grown artistically,” Winter
said. Added Cook: “We push one another
to do better.”
Most of the artists at Local by Design
are female, and most are on their second
or third careers. Nesbitt spent 15 years as
the CEO of a national nonprofit before first
picking up a paint brush.
More than a decade ago and during a
period of intense stress, Nesbitt impulsively painted the walls of her home office
with a mix of salmon pink and a gold.
“I did not expect the feeling of mental
peace that immediately came over me,”