Huntington Woods Artist, Entrepreneur to Exhibit At Maker Faire

The Maker Faire festival this weekend at in Dearborn celebrates the best of American innovation and do-it-yourself spirit – and that suits Huntington Woods artist Maxine Gardner just fine.

Gardner, the visionary behind Artful Vision – an online artists' gallery that sells products made in the United States and donates a portion of proceeds to charity – will be one of several entrepreneurs displaying their goods Saturday in the Tech Town tent at Maker Faire.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity," Gardner said. "I have quite a few Michigan artists who gave me the products that I can take there and show."

Keeping dreams alive

Gardner – with the help of Tech Town, a Detroit-based business incubator – launched Artful Vision last year.

The online gallery gives approximately 90 artists a platform on which to sell goods made in the United States and lets buyers donate a portion of their bill to any of 23 partner nonprofits, she said. Twenty-eight of Artful Vision's artists are from Michigan, as are 13 of its nonprofits.

Gardner said she had planned to use the model for her own photography business. But, as the economy tanked and gas prices skyrocketed, she saw many of her creative friends struggling to afford fuel to haul trailers to shows on the art circuit, even as crowds – and demand – diminished.

"I thought: What if I could support them staying with their dreams?" she said. "If you're an artist and the economy goes down, how do you continue earning a living?"

Gardner's elegant answer to that question won her support from the Detroit business incubator.

"I am a visionary, but I wasn't a business person," she said. "In order to make the transition, I needed the support of a place like Tech Town."

Gardner received mentoring and business training that enabled her to turn her dream into reality.

"It's such an awesome resource that entrepreneurs in this area can get support there," she said.

'Maker Faire is pretty awesome'

This Monday, Artful Vision celebrates its 1-year anniversary, and Gardner remains as enthusiastic as ever about her creation.

"There's anything from jewelry to children's dress-up clothes to birdhouses to hand-painted silk scarves," available on the website, she  said. "So, there's a nice variety."

Last week, Gardner said she had an order from Alaska for children's dress-up clothes made by a costume designer in Colorado; it will benefit the Troy Nature Center.

"How cool is that?" she exclaimed.

The anecdote sums up Gardner's goal in establishing Artful Vision: "It was all about economic recovery in the United States," she said.

That creative thinking is what landed her a place at Maker Faire this weekend. She'll find herself in good company.

"More than 300 makers will bring their wares, ideas, inventions and solutions to Maker Faire Detroit, offering everything from robots, flame shooters and animatronics to solar-powered mechanical sculptures and fashionable finds," reads the event's website.

"I think the whole idea of a Maker Faire is pretty awesome," Gardner said.

If you go: Maker Faire runs 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Ticket prices range from free for children 4 and younger up to $99 for two-day adult passes that include museum access, rides, a Ford Rouge Factory tour and one IMAX movie pass. Maker Faire features refreshments, arts and crafts, kids activities and more. For more information, please call 313-982-6001 or visit www.thehenryford.org/makerfaire.