After 35 years in an investment management and finance career, Heather Davis finally decided to make her love for creating art happen. She opened her fine art gallery, Heather Davis Studio + Gallery, in the River Arts District and continued to evolve her craft.
Davis is a painter, predominantly using encaustic paint (wax), acrylic, and ink to create designs on paper and wood panels. She also custom-makes lampshades from her paintings on Japanese kozo paper.
When she had a studio gallery in Pink Dog Creative for two years, Davis came across the opportunity to buy the buildings at 66-70 N. Market Street in downtown Asheville. However, the buildings were built in 1926 and needed major renovations.
Several tenants previously owned the buildings, including a Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, a smoke shop, government offices, a sewing center and even a dance school. With the help of an architect, general contractor and historic preservation consultant, she planned and executed the historic preservation of the buildings.
In 2024, Davis met Margaret Lancaster, the owner of local unique home goods store Dog & Pony Show, and began selling her work there. The two became fast friends, as Lancaster also had worked in the corporate world as a corporate trainer before deciding to open her own business.
“Margaret has an extraordinary ability to put things together and make disparate objects absolutely beautiful,” Davis said.
After having drinks one night, the two had an idea to collaborate on a new venture in which Davis sold her art, and Lancaster sold her home goods. The concept for UpMarket Gallery and Dog & Pony Show was born. Lancaster would relocate Dog & Pony Show to their new endeavor from her existing Haywood Street location.
Once Davis was able to get the buildings a historic preservation designation, she went to work on restoring and renovating them to their former glory. She restored the unique parapet on the outside of the building, rejuvenated the 100-year-old tile, and removed and made the elevator (a manually operated lift to move people and goods from floor to floor) into an incredible sculpture.
“It’s such an interesting building,” says Davis. “[After the renovations], it looks like it looked in 1926. It’s beautiful.”
The new gallery space, opening in Fall 2024, will feature art, fashion, furniture and eclectic home goods from local and regional artists up and down the Blue Ridge Mountains and Southern Appalachian region.
“We want to welcome you into our artistic space full of delightful, wonderful things,” Lancaster said. “It’s a warm environment, and there’s good music playing, and you just can’t wait to get in and walk all around.”
The two also plan to offer a 1,500-square-foot event space for exhibits, rehearsal dinners and other momentous occasions, and a diverse range of art classes covering various mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and mixed media.
They also hope to influence people who may be intimidated by art galleries because they seem out of reach and unaffordable to explore UpMarket Gallery and experience art in a new way.
“We want it to just be something that you go, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen anything like that,’” Margaret said. “It’s something you just don’t see anywhere else.”
