Artful Ellijay, Featuring Renowned Ga Artists and Craftsmen, Opens in Downtown Ellijay

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Furniture, Home Décor and Accessories Ideal for Home or Gifting Add to Downtown Offerings

ATLANTA (Oct. 1, 2018) – Bringing together a love for interior design and the north Georgia mountain town of Ellijay, life-long friends Paul King and Steve Wadley, along with their team of family and friends have curated an outstanding collection of home décor and accessories with the opening of a brick and mortar location of Artful Ellijay. The new storefront is located at 10 N. Main Street in the heart of historic downtown Ellijay. Providing a mix of merchandise that is soulful and eclectic, Artful Ellijay features local artists, hand-crafted accessories and many more items to fulfill home goods and gifting needs. An Open House and Ribbon Cutting will be held on Oct. 2, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., where guests can explore store offerings, meet the design team and enjoy complimentary refreshments.

The idea for the business started when life-long friends Steve Wadley and Paul King developed an interest in crafting metal art in Wadley’s barn in Ellijay. The first pieces they created became elegant décor for the wedding of Wadley’s daughter, Samantha to Damon Gabriel. From there, the idea evolved into bringing together unique pieces crafted by Georgia artisans, where people could add them to their own homes. The Artful Ellijay team formed as Samantha and Damon moved from Atlanta to build a new life in Ellijay, create the business of celebrating and bringing Georgia craftsmanship into more homes and become engaged members of the community.

In addition to Samantha and Damon, the team includes Karen Driskell, Paul’s sister, who will share her 22 years of expertise as a past professor of interior design at Bauder University and is the Creative Director for Artful. Joining Driskell are her close friends and design associates, the store’s Retail Manager Laura Webb, a former retail manager for renowned Atlanta design institution Outrageous Interiors, and Lead Interior Designer Charlene Tittle, who has more than 20 years of experience in interior design in Atlanta. Whether connected by blood, marriage, friendship or passion for the design, they consider one another family and are proud to bring another family owned business to the town. With their love for interior design, fine craftsmanship and being a part of the economic development of Ellijay, which all now call home, the team at Artful Ellijay looks forward to sharing their carefully crafted collection of home furnishings and design expertise to assist clients in finding the ideal pieces to bring both beauty and comfort to their homes.

“Having spent more than a decade visiting my parent’s Ellijay home on the weekends, I’d already fallen in love with the beauty of the North Georgia mountains as well as all that downtown Ellijay and the surrounding area has to offer,” shared Samantha Wadley, co-owner of Artful Ellijay. “We look forward to assisting customers in selecting pieces to curate a home that not only looks beautiful, but also lends itself to functional and artful living.”

Items are available for sale both in store as well as through their online outlet at www.ArtfulEllijay.com. Customers can find an array of unique and thoughtfully sourced furniture, lighting, home goods, outdoor pieces, and accessories while consulting with an experienced design team on what pieces will be the best fit for their home or as gifts for someone else.

Some of the store’s featured artists and craftsmen include:

  • Emily Griffith– renowned animal portrait artist in Alpharetta, Ga., who was the resident artist for UGA’s UGA VII, VIII and IX, as well as celebrities such as Tori Spelling and Cindy Wilson of the B-52s
  • Kim Daniels – Ellijay based artist with a focus on oil paintings of farm life
  • Abbi Reece Cagle – Ellijay native photographer, jeweler and painter
  • Anna DeStefano – Nature photographer and owner of Affirmation Photography
  • Bill Tyndale– Woodturner in Atlanta, using local wood from arborists, storm damaged or trees cut down due to age, to create art from what might otherwise be waste
  • Melanie Sheldon – Watercolor artist in Blairsville, Ga., whose work is featured as murals and in galleries throughout Georgia, Florida and New Mexico.
  • Jim Wonderling – National award-winning Dahlonega based colored pencil artist

“Each person on our team has fully invested in not only the business of Artful Ellijay, but also in the Ellijay community and it’s prosperity by making it their full-time home,” noted Samantha. “We are thrilled to be a part of the outstanding businesses contributing to the renaissance of downtown Ellijay.  Our Open House on October 2 is just the beginning of how we plan to be family-friendly and community focused in all that we do.”

About Artful Ellijay

Artful Ellijay is a family owned and operated home provisions business located in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains in the historic downtown of Ellijay, Ga. The team at Artful Ellijay believe the home should be a place of refuge and comfort. It offers products to curate a home that not only looks beautiful, but also lends itself to functional and artful living. Providing a mix of merchandise that is chic yet functional, Artful Ellijay features local artists, hand-crafted accessories and many more items to fulfill home goods and gifting needs. For more information, visit www.ArtfulEllijay.com and follow on FacebookInstagram and Pinterest.

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