Today we’d like to introduce you to Katy Larsen.
Hi Katy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I am originally from the Dallas area and grew up in McKinney, Texas from 1989-2002. I went to Louisiana Tech and graduated with a degree in Interior Design, Architecture, Cultural Resources and Historical Preservation, 2-D, and 3-D Art. I met my husband in band and moved to Shreveport in 2009. I founded the Agora Borealis in the winter of 2013 and opened our doors in July of 2014. My daughter was not even a year old when we opened our doors. I wanted to create a home here in Shreveport, Louisiana.
My grandmother died and left my parents with enough money to purchase the 1927 building on the corner of Lake Street and Marshall in downtown Shreveport, LA. I receive the building key on my 30th birthday and opened eight months later. My family invested in a dream we schemed up when I was a child; A place for artists to gather, create, share and feel safe.
We are located at 421 Lake St. in downtown Dreamport. Agora means marketplace in Greek, which was a place where people would gather and not only share products but share news. Borealis means Northern. So, we are the northern marketplace serving North Louisiana and its surrounding area.
We are the only artist marketplace with all local, handmade, sustainable, upcycled/recycled, and unique products. We serve our local artists, culture and artistic retail needs. We are the north Louisiana gift shop and maker space with something new and exciting always happening within and around our walls.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The red tape consisted of the normal struggles of starting a business, but the largest challenge was the mindset of our city… Stuck, rigid, fixed with entitlement mentality and fear of change. The lack of artist marketplaces and safe collective spaces is a gap we fill. We are giving the city another outlet to be seen and at the same time showing a bit of rebelliousness against the mundane everyday retail experience.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are the only artist marketplace with all local, handmade, sustainable, upcycled/recycled, and unique products. We serve our local artists, culture, and artistic retail needs. We are the north Louisiana gift shop and maker space with something new and exciting always happening within and around our walls. People are loyal to their community (which creates brand loyalty.) Our values are focused on sustainability of products, jobs, and creative inventions. (As one can find on our website)
The Agora Borealis is proudly enriching the community by bringing the Tri-State area quality, handmade, local art and goods. We are the first of its kind in Shreveport, and we invite you to discover the treasures within this Local Artisan Marketplace.
Think of it as an art gallery combined with a fine furniture store and mix in some unique handmade products like jewelry, soaps, lighting fixtures, and even food. The products we provide are made locally, by hand, and a majority of them from reused or recycled materials.
Quality, uniqueness, and neighborly are some of our core values.
We also believe that it is our responsibility to stimulate the local economy and our national economy by bringing the area its local art and hiring local contractors and vendors for our business needs. This involves a diligent and active pursuit on our part to buy sustainable products, preferably American-made for our use and for the products we provide.
Our love for the Arts drives us to bring our community closer together through fellowship in creativity. Art is a powerful tool for self-expression, but also the expression of a group of people. Art improves our lives in many ways, and we want to help improve the lives around us. In order to bring people together in this way, we plan on hiring talented and professional instructors of various types of media to teach classes that people of all walks of life can be involved in.
One of our strongest passions is to be environmentally friendly as well as being economically responsible. Everything we do keeps both of these goals in mind. From using energy-efficient appliances and alternative sources of power to providing you with products made in an environmentally efficient way, we relish in the thought of making this work with the smallest carbon footprint possible.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
You must take risks to succeed. Without risks there is nothing to gain. If you aren’t willing to take any risks, you can’t be in business. Innovation is what sparks creation. In the world of art, you must stay ahead, and that means taking risks, even if you cannot predict the outcome. The whole process of art is taking risks. Deciding to open a brick-and-mortar space in a decaying downtown, a risk.
The time and energy you invest in your art community when you have a family to care for, and a child to raise, a risk.
Spending your family’s savings and inheritance to have a space to create within, a risk.
I find several small daily risks of friendships, partnerships, leadership, time management, people management, all risks!
It’s trusting your intuition and seeing where it leads.
I feel I am exactly where I am supposed to be and I couldn’t be happier with these decisions, no matter the risks I’ve waged. I am grateful for the opportunities!
Pricing:
- Everything from soap ($5)
- to Furniture ($6,000)
- everything in between
- art ($3-$15,000)
Contact Info:
- Website: theAgoraBorealis.com
- Instagram: @theAgoraBorealis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.Agora.Borealis
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theagoraborealis5413
Image Credits
Kimberly Aker
Jen Armand
Shannon Palmer
