We are continuing on with our “Business Spotlight of the Month” series!  Every month, Salem Main Streets will highlight a business in downtown Salem that might be relatively unknown, off-the-beaten path, misunderstood, or just plain cool.  Next up,  Kylie and our intern Cherese paid a visit to Salem Ink.

What: Salem Ink Tattoo and Art Gallery

Where: 201 Derby Street

Owner: Loki LaChapelle

The Business:  Salem Ink has been around for a few years now, but their brand-new and very visible location on Pickering Wharf has allowed them to expand and reimagine themselves.  Part tattoo studio, part gallery, Salem Ink puts the artistry of tattoos and the local community front and center.  Many people going past Pickering Wharf lately have had questions about “the new gallery in town,” and we wanted to get an inside look.

Starting in Salem: Loki LaChapelle originally opened Salem Ink on Washington Street several years ago, after being drawn to Salem’s funky, artsy vibe.  Cautiously polite about what makes Salem Ink different than other tattoo studios, Loki points out that every tattoo is personal and that customers should look to find artists who match their style.  Salem Ink will take on large-scale to small work, noting that the smallest tattoos can sometimes have the most significance.

Why a Gallery?  While at their previous space on Washington Street, Salem Ink had started a small gallery in a neighboring space as an opportunity for Salem State students to show work.  Loki realized that there were few opportunities on campus for students to have their work seen and, just as importantly, sold.  The new location on Derby Street has allowed the two businesses to combine.  The current gallery showcases work by Salem Ink artists, local professional artists, and student artists from Salem State and Montserrat.  As a result, pieces range from extremely affordable smaller pieces to larger, high impact works – the large octopus piece by Salem Ink artist Ashlie featured at the top of this blog has since been sold to a local restaurant where it will hopefully have a permanent home!

Bright, bold, and inviting, Salem Ink’s new digs offer much more than either a traditional tattoo studio or gallery.  Be sure to poke your head in and you’ll immediately see why!

This could be you!

Time on your hands? We can use you here in Salem on June 5-8th during the Salem Arts Festival. Not as attendees (although we’d love to have you in that capacity as well) but as volunteers. As many of our long time “Haunted Happenings” volunteers will tell you, there is a great deal of behind-the-scenes involvement by community members to produce our festivals.

“We are working so hard to make this year’s Arts Festival the best yet,” say Kylie Sullivan, Main Streets Manager, “but we can’t do it without your help!  We’re reaching out to all of you who love Salem as much as we do to be a part of this great celebration of the arts and the Salem community.”

While the main goal is to give back to your community, we would like to point out that volunteering is also a two way street, as you can make new friends, new business contacts, and strengthen social skills.

Now in its sixth year, the Salem Arts Festival boasts attendance numbers in the thousands and celebrates all the arts: painting, photography, sculpture, dance, music, writing, film, new media, performance, theatre, poetry, culinary, and more.

This year’s event also includes a street fair, plus live entertainment on two performance stages (located in Derby Square and on Artists’ Row).

June 5 – Some muscle needed

• Seeking 4 to 5 volunteers who can lift and help assemble panels, during the evening at Old Town Hall.

June 6 – Set-up and sitters

• Seeking 2 volunteers for Opening reception set-up, 4 to 6pm.
• Seeking 2 volunteers to gallery sit during the opening reception at Old Town Hall, 6 to 9pm.

June 7 – Set-up, sitters and greeters

• Seeking 4 volunteers for hanging signs and putting out A-frame signs, setting up info tables, preparing Old Town Hall gallery, assisting at performance stages, 9/9:30 to 11am.
• Seeking 4 volunteers per shift, 10:30am to 6pm (broken into four shifts of 10:30am to 12:30pm, 12:30 to 2:30pm, 2:30 to 4:30pm, and 4:30 to 6pm). Duties will include handing out arts festival programs and assisting guests with directions, etc. Greeters will be stationed at specific outdoor locations.
• Gallery sitters/greeters wanted, 2 volunteers per shift at Gallery in Old Town Hall, 10:30am to 6pm (broken into four shifts of 10:30am to 12:30pm, 12:30 to 2:30pm, 2:30 to 4:30pm, and 4:30 to 6pm). Duties will include greeting guests, directing them to activities upstairs in Old Town Hall, offering other general directions and keeping an eye on the work in the gallery during gallery hours.
• Seeking 2 volunteers per shift at the Information table, Derby Square, 10:30am to 6pm (broken into four shifts of 10:30am to 12:30pm, 12:30 to 2:30pm, 2:30 to 4:30pm, and 4:30 to 6pm). Duties will include handing out programs and other literature as well as directing people to Arts Festival events or around Salem. Volunteers at this table will also assist in the sales of merchandise for any SAF performers.
• Performance stage help, Derby Square and in Artists’ Row. Performances will run from noon to 6pm. Duties will include helping bands get on and off these stages as quickly as possible and include moving some equipment.
• Seeking 4 volunteers for General breakdown 5:30 to 7/7:30pm. Duties include taking down signs, picking up A-frame signs, tidying up Old Town Hall, bringing in information table, helping out at performance stages to close them up for the night.

June 8 – Set-up, sitters and greeters

• Seeking 4 volunteers for general set up 9/9:30 to 11am. Duties include putting up signs, setting up info tables, preparing Old Town Hall gallery, assisting at performance stages, and the like.
• Seeking 4 volunteers per shift for outdoor greeters 10:30am to 6pm (broken into four shifts of 10:30am to 12:30pm, 12:30 to 2:30pm, 2:30 to 4:30pm, and 4:30 to 6pm). Duties will include handing out arts festival programs and assisting guests with directions, etc. Greeters will be stationed at specific locations.
• Seeking 2 volunteers per shift as Gallery sitters/greeters, Gallery in Old Town Hall. 10:30am to 6pm (broken into four shifts of 10:30am to 12:30pm, 12:30 to 2:30pm, 2:30 to 4:30pm, and 4:30 to 6pm). Duties will include greeting guests, directing them to activities upstairs in Old Town Hall and keeping an eye on the art work in the gallery during gallery hours.
• Seeking 2 volunteers per shift for Information table, Derby Square. 10:30am to 6pm (broken into four shifts of 10:30am to 12:30pm, 12:30 to 2:30pm, 2:30 to 4:30pm, and 4:30 to 6pm). Duties will include handing out programs and other literature as well as directing people to Arts Festival events or around Salem. Volunteers at this table will also assist in the sales of merchandise for any SAF performers.
• Performance stage help at Derby Square and in Artists’ Row. Performances will run from noon to 6pm. Duties will include helping bands get on and off these stages as quickly as possible and include moving some equipment.
• Looking for 6 volunteers for general breakdown, 5:30 to 7/7:30pm. Duties include taking down signs, picking up A-frame signs, cleaning up Old Town Hall, assisting with art pick-up, striking information table, helping out at performance stages to close them out for the festival, gathering any festival related things that are outdoors, packing up any festival materials. Breakdown will include some jobs that require the ability to lift.

The Salem Arts Festival is organized by Salem Main Streets and a collaboration of Salem organizations which provide support for the festival, including the Salem Arts Association, Salem State University Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, Social Palates, and Salem Collective of Artists and Musician.
For more info contact Kylie Sullivan at kylie@salemmainstreets.org