ARTrepreneur of the Month–June 2014
Erika E. Righter is the owner of Hope Tank, a Denver charitable boutique which donates a portion of every item sold to a charitable organization or social cause. Erika is a social worker, social entrepreneur, and our ARTrepreneur of the Month.
CREATE: Are you an artist?
Erika: I use the term artist loosely. I sewed silly bibs and embroidered aprons with fun designs until I had my daughter. Now that I have help at the shop I hope to start making things again.
CREATE: What is Hope Tank and what inspired you to start it?
Erika: Hope Tank is a charitable boutique. I talked about this idea for several years then was fortunate to win a scholarship to South By Southwest Interactive. I met people from all over the world; people who were busy trying new ideas rather than talking about it. They encouraged me to see my idea through. I went back to Colorado and narrowed down my ideas, but fell back into working for an agency.
I proposed different ideas to my superiors but would get the stock non-profit responses, like “This is how we’ve always done it.” I was so frustrated. I got married September 2011 and found out I was pregnant in December. I found out my agency was closing down in January 2012, and we were all losing our jobs. My husband then got laid off so we decided that things couldn’t any get crazier. We signed a lease in January 2012 on Santa Fe, and I opened on the First Friday of February 2012. I started with 10 artists, and now, 2 years later, I have 134 vendors.
Everything I sell supports various charities and causes, or is made by socially or environmentally responsible companies. If it is handmade, the artist chooses the charity that the 10% donation goes to. I also have ‘cause lines,’ where the philanthropic component is built into the product. For example, Mitscoots Socks are made by homeless individuals. For every pair I sell, they give me a pair to donate in Denver. For anything else in the shop, I donate a portion of the sale to a local non-profit.
CREATE: Tell me about your involvement with Curt Bean (winner of the 2014 Governor’s Creative Leadership Award) and the Art of War Project.
Erika: Curt originally came into the shop to talk about his artwork. The more we spoke, the more evident it became that we were supposed to be working together on other projects. I come from a family with a great deal of military service. I had experience with people my age who had served, and I’ve seen a lot of problems that were not being addressed in the community. Using some of my experience working in the non-profit world, I proposed doing a Veteran’s Night at Hope Tank. The idea was to engage veterans like Curt, who were not necessarily looking for a therapeutic environment, but still wanted that sense of community with people who could relate to many common experiences. I figured that people would feel comfortable coming to a place that had absolutely nothing ‘military’ or ‘therapeutic’ about it, yet was warm and open to everyone.
What has grown out of this collaboration is a supportive community of veterans and active duty members, men and women of all ages who have served in different conflicts and from different military branches. Many veterans are resistant to accessing services that they earned, so we also have information available to them so that they can pursue those on their own terms. We have also given Curt the opportunity to do his Art of War class but with a different crowd. I have also had some really talented artists come out of this Vet Night, which is awesome!
HopeTank sells Gallo En Fuego’s repurposed firehose belts, which a portion of proceeds go to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
CREATE: Any recent successes of Hope Tank or Hope Tank artists?
Erika: We have started a wonderful collaboration with Access Gallery, which serves youth with disabilities and provides art education. They have been providing social entrepreneurship classes to the youth who are making submissions to become Hope Tank artists. They will have the opportunity to have their work in a retail setting. We are also promoting their corporate art program, and encouraging other businesses to commission these incredibly talented artists to make a piece that reflects their mission.
CREATE: What advice would you give to artists who would like to become Hope Tank artists? What mistakes do you often see in the submission process?
Erika: Read all the instructions to submit work. Be sure that you have enough inventory to keep up if your work sells really well. Don’t have your work in every shop in Denver. Once people see your stuff all over the city, it starts to lose its appeal.
CREATE: Any upcoming events planned for Hope Tank?
Erika: We will offer art classes in the spring, including ones for kids, more fundraisers and more fun events like our Loom-A-Thon Against Cancer. We have an event planned with MaxFund for July 2014, and there will be pets up for adoption, face painting, and much more. And yes, the long-term plan is to open more locations, which I am asked about every single day. I’m looking for interested investors and partners.
For more information about Hope Tank, visit HopeTank.org.
Category: ARTrepreneurship
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