Today we’d like to introduce you to Milagros Melendez.
Hi Milagros, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It was 1998, and I was 24 when I bought a 1-way ticket to New York, and arrived with $100 in my pocket. After having to get a new birth certificate in order to get a state ID, I was left with $40. I had been looking for work, and managed to line up an interview at one of the then biggest art supply stores in Manhattan, Pearl Paint on Canal Street.
It was a stressful time and I somehow wound up in a Virgin megastore as a means of escape. Without really thinking it through, I purchased a deep house music CD; it was just the right sound that I needed to hear, even if it left me with $20 to my name.
The day of the interview, I arrived early and decided to explore the area a bit. I strolled past a gallery in the SoHo district with posters, different art, and things hanging in the window that caught my way. Located on Grand Street, and not too far from the interview location, I made a mental note to return.
Pearl Paint was made up of four levels, each with a special department and a different manager for each level. I interviewed with each manager and felt pretty good about this job prospect- up to the very end. There was a distinct emphasis on IF we decide to hire you, we’ll contact you by Monday. It was Friday, and that IF seemed to set me on a course I could never have imagined. Needless to say, I left the interview feeling a little disappointed. Twenty dollars wasn’t going to last very long, and I didn’t have anything else lined up.
I was staying with family in Brooklyn at the time and wasn’t ready to head back, so I decided to wander a bit, and remembered about the gallery. I had my portfolio with me and thought there might be some interest. Well, I learned quickly enough that there was no interest in my art there. After being introduced to the owner, he flipped through my portfolio and bluntly told me it wasn’t for him. That said, he asked me about my story. I told him that I was fairly new to NY, roughly two weeks in, and was looking for work – that I had an interview with the art supply store a block away, but thought it might be best to keep looking. So he asked me how I was with pencils, and I instinctively replied that I was great.
With that, he asked if I’d be interested in touching up some posters and I said “sure.” I don’t remember what time it was at that moment, but I do remember that I got back to Brooklyn by about 9pm. I had to take the L train to Morgan Avenue, which from Canal Street, was about an hour ride, plus the wait time. But I arrived home with great news, I found a job!
I would return the next day, the day after that, and continue doing so into 2015. This was his was the start of my career in the original and vintage posters industry, starting with light restoration and eventually, helping to run the gallery. I was introduced to so much and worked with so many people from around the world. This was also an important time for my artistic growth. There was enough flexibility for me to pursue opportunities for showing and creating new works.
After about 16years of working at the gallery, thoughts of stability started creeping in, and by that time, it felt that I was inhibiting myself; that there were more opportunities outside of NY. I had developed a love of restoration because it was gratifying to improve on something that needed work, and I had the instinct for it, plus, I enjoyed it so much… I still do. I would have loved to have my own studio, but the idea felt beyond my reach at the time. So when I got the opportunity to manage a restoration studio in Connecticut, I jumped at it.
The position as a studio manager was more about human behavior in relation to change. Quite the challenge, the greatest lesson for me in this role was to learn to stand firm in my decisions in every aspect.
After 8 1/2 years, it was time for another change. As they say, I put in my years, and it was time for me to see what I could achieve with the time and energy that I put in for others, and pour it into myself and my own passions.
Toward the end of 2023, I moved to Wilmington to open up my own restoration studio and gallery, offering the unique perspective of an artist, a conservator, a collector, and almost 30 years of working in retail and directly with clients, which I believe presents itself as a special resource for the community. The gallery features my own art and original works that I’ve procured, in addition to a collection of antique and vintage posters and ephemera that I’ve been assembling for about 15 years. I also offer in-house preservation and restoration of art, old photos, furniture, fabric, and books, all while slowly cultivating and nurturing a new generation of collectors.
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?
Aside from personal setbacks, the life of an entrepreneur is riddled with twists and turns, requiring one to master the art of the pivot and really being honest with oneself.
There are a lot of aspects about starting and running a company that people are only starting to talk about more, but it gets dark sometimes. Faith and persistence become vital in lifting yourself out from that darkness; and everyday, a conscious decision is made to keep moving forward, especially when it doesn’t look like any progress is being made.
In hindsight, many of the personal setbacks are a direct reflection of the decisions that I made branching out on my own, and having experienced them since I opened up the gallery, I learned that I should have kept a lot more to myself and taken my time to do more research. I own that 100%. For example, visibility is probably the biggest struggle. My location is off the beaten path and not ideal for retail. It’s a destination spot for sure. The good thing, however, is that, little by little, the area is growing. Although Wilmington has a great art scene, it’s all downtown, where I am not. Luckily, I’m only 20 minutes away from downtown, but it’s a hurdle for some people. Visibility builds more trust, particularly with a niche business. I’m doing it; it’s just a slow process.
Another struggle is doing it on my own. If I could clone myself to network, photograph and document inventory, take on and complete restoration projects, update the website regularly, and keep the daily operations going, that would be so helpful.
Oh, and you need a vehicle! I didn’t have one for a few months; ufff!! it was brutal.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
From early on, drawing and painting have always been a part of me. Encouraged by my mother as a past time that would entertain me for hours, the creative process developed into a necessity and a core for living. Whatever stage I’ve been in my life, creating in some way was my anchor.
Labels like contemporary and abstract art are so broad; sentient is the closest word that resonates with me. But each project is distinct and I can only describe them as meditations on a person, structure, object, or event, Most of my work relies heavily on memory because many of my subjects appear while I’m in transit, so I’ll work from quick sketches with notes or snapshots.. There is often a lot of color. Most of my lines are loose; one person described them as being ‘sutty”. I use mediums that come closest to helping me achieve the idea that I have in mind, so it’s not unusual for works to be mixed-media. One thing that is probably most recognizable, though, is the material that I use as my canvas.
There is a preservation process for posters that is called linenbacking, where acid-free paper is mounted to canvas, and the poster is then applied and rolled out onto this surface and left to dry. Once a poster has been restored, a linen margin is normally left around the poster, and the excess material is discarded. I started thinking, here’s all of this good material that is being tossed, so I started collecting the remnants from this process over the years. I started weaving the strips of different widths and lengths into various-sized panels, resulting in uneven surfaces that play with the eye with or without paint. I even started making bags from the material for a project I titled, My Paper Bag Company, while I was in New York.
Using this process, I created four works and exhibited for the first time in 10 years for a show to support the Cape Fear Literacy Council called, Words of Inspiration. Poetry, literature, or verse had to be incorporated into the art – either directly worked into the piece, or inspired by. If inspired by, the text had to be printed out and accompany the art. When the opportunity presented itself, I went for it, and grateful that I did so.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Hahaha, that’s a tough one.. I think my memory is starting to fail me there… I think the most memorable time, though, was when I made the decision to move to New York in 98. Not that this was my favorite, but by far, the most memorable and most significant. It was the start of my journey, and I wouldn’t be hear today if I hadn’t taken that leap of Faith.
Pricing:
- based on artist
- date
- rarity
- condition
- originality and purpose
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.happiestkidfinds.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happiest_kid_finds
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happiestkid
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milagrosart/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@happiestkidfinds7624
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/happiest-kid-finds-wilmington?osq=Happiest+Kid+Finds
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@happiestkidfinds
