Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorothy Collier
Hi Dorothy, 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 backstory with our readers?
I am a mixed media artist of Dorothy Art, a creative that brings a strong sense of maximalist grandmillennial vibes with every aspect of my life I decorate. I am from Franklin, Tennessee and the daughter of a very talented artist, Streater Spencer. I get all of my art talent from my mama! I grew up going to her art shows on the weekends and weekdays were filled with refreshing her walls at the Nashville galleries and going to the frame shops.
I started selling my artwork right out of college. I graduated from Ole Miss in 2009 with a double B.A. in Studio Art and Psychology and moved to Memphis right away to follow my now husband John, who is a native Memphian. I got my Master’s in Art Education from the University of Memphis. I taught middle school art while building my painting career. Week nights were filled with hurrying home to my studio to paint for the upcoming weekend’s art festivals around the southeast. I’d fill up my SUV of paintings with my canopy tent and pray for sunny skies and excited art enthusiasts to be at the craft fairs. I quit teaching to work on my art more while managing the gift shop, Gild the Lily. I helped buy products at market and there I learned all about the other side of wholesale. I grew my art business to serving 70+ gift shops around the southeast with my original artwork, prints, and greeting cards.
At these wholesale shows I met so many creative women so I decided to launch a podcast “Positively Creative,” where I showcased these women’s stories of how they built there careers. Alongside that I founded the Memphis chapter of Rising Tide Society, a free business meet up for creatives that hosted roundtables for creative entrepreneurship. Those monthly meetups led me to co-founding Arrow Creative, a one-roof arts district, with Abby Phillips, founder of Memphis Fashion Week.
While growing up in the south, running around my grandmother’s antique shops in Nashville, Tennessee and Greenwood, Mississippi, I quickly found a love for all things unique…and antique. I’ve always loved browsing antique malls. When I was stuck in an artistic rut one stroll through the antique shops would get that creativity going again. One day in 2020 I shared some of my vintage finds with my Dorothy Art instagram followers. It was really more of a “look what’s inspiring me / behind the scenes sort of Instagram story.” I got so many comments asking if I could ship my finds and people offering to pay more. I quickly realized that it could be a fun endeavor and extra side business. I called my weekly antique mall outings “Dorothy Art YAY or NAY” where people would vote the items up or down just for fun and then bid to buy if they saw an item they loved. Throughout the past couple of years I’ve hosted pop up shops with my vintage finds.
Not waining from my grandmother’s influences, I started my newest endeavor in winter 2024, Heirloom House. What started as a pop up shop experience with co-owner Alice Kerley is now here to stay! We are thrilled to be opening our doors at Chickasaw Oaks in February 2025! Alice and I scour the city and beyond sourcing vintage, offering one-of-a-kind pieces that make your home feel warm, stylish, and personal. We have curated Heirloom House to reflect our vibrant personalities, filling it with treasures that celebrate history, craftsmanship, and individuality. One can find vintage linens, brass figurines, chinoiserie and blue and white vases, barware, midcentury modern furniture, and more. We can’t wait to show you around the shop so you can add a little heirloom to your house!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. I first was a middle school art teacher where I taught for less time than it took me to get my Master’s! Teachers are such a gift and never get the credit they deserve. They should all be up for sainthood!
Luckily I followed the joy and decided to paint full time while managing a local gift shop, Gild the Lily part time. It was there that I learned all about wholesale and my knowledge of retail from growing up in my grandmother’s antique shops expanded. I pivoted my weekend art and craft shows to more wholesale, where I sold my original artwork, prints, and greeting cards in 70+ gift shops around the southeast. Learning how to fulfill orders and hiring my first studio assistants held many life lessons. And my studio was our 3rd bedroom! The hallways would be lined with wet paintings stacked up on cups! So chaotic looking back.
Learning how to juggle motherhood and an art career 8 years ago with my first child was very difficult. My creativity defined me in my mind and when I didn’t have the time to create, my identity was shifted quickly. With each baby I’ve paused my career for a while and when I’m ready to dive back in a new venture unfolds. After my first, I created the podcast “Positively Creative,” where I interviewed 60+ women creatives and started the local chapter of Rising Tide Society, a free business meetup for creative entrepreneurs. After my second child, I co-founded Arrow Creative, a one-building arts district. I had a wonderful community of artists and creatives helping support each other, but the biggest challenge I found myself in was that I had paused painting every day for so long to build said community that I forgot my why…the love of the artmaking. I’m truly the happiest when I’m painting and creating. Finding that balance was really tough and I’m not sure I ever found it back then.
In the last couple of years I’ve adopted new mantas and a new lifestyle, where career doesn’t come first. Having wonderful experiences with friends and family does along with as many vacations, lots of spare time browsing town shopping for vintage, and lazy reading days as I can squeeze in. I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to experiment and play and create what fulfills me as a full-time career. My biggest cheerleader is my husband of 12 years, John, and I have him to thank for that.
I’m proud to say that these days there aren’t many things that feel like obstacles compared to my early days of schlepping paintings around at craft shows and the like. Maybe that’s from gradual growth over time, maybe that’s from being a part of this great tight knit community in Memphis, or probably from my more relaxed view of my day to day. Honestly probably from having kids. You kind of have to go with the flow as a working mom with young kids. That and outsourcing so many tasks make the challenges feel easier. That’s how I know that building Heirloom House is what’s meant to be for this chapter in my life. Every piece of building this business has kind of built itself easier than most things I’ve done. My co-founder, Alice Kerley, and I are finding the fun and it’s paying off!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the painter of Dorothy Art first and foremost. I describe myself as the Maximalist Grandmillennial Artist. Maximalist meaning give me all the color, more is more, etc. And Grandmillennial meaning I am obsessed with all of the antiques that filled our grandmothers homes…chinoiserie, blue and white, embroidered linens, needlepoint, so on and so on. I strive to create a sense of whimsical beauty and in some pieces, hope to prompt the viewer into a child-like happiness. My two favorite subjects are bright florals and animals with strong personalities. I use simplistic elements to mirror my Mississippi folk art influences and enjoy using quick gestural lines to give the vintage subjects a quirky, soulful voice. I paint primarily in oil on board, acrylic, and digital drawings. Most recently I’m loving painting murals throughout Memphis in restaurants, AirBNBs, and private residences.
Maximizing on bright colors and using subjects with a nod to a fine chinoiserie style, I teach my audience how to take timeless and traditional elements and turn it into a personal rainbow of eye candy in their homes. From the oil painting I create for your living room walls to a birthday celebration tablescape for my friends and family, I believe in surrounding oneself with colorful pieces and bringing out the extravagant from the ordinary.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
The most important thing to me these days is to make sure I’m having fun with every endeavor I align myself with. I used to believe that when you struggle and sacrifice that the reward will be greater, when in fact through experience I’ve learned the opposite is true. When I’m finding joy in the work I do, it doesn’t feel like work. When I’m emotionally lit up while painting, that energy is transferred through the canvas and my clients gravitate to those pieces more so. Same with when I’m on the hunt for cool vintage pieces to fill Heirloom House with. If I’m having fun finding these pieces, that excitement transfers to our customers.
I’m not strict with my schedule thanks to the whims of mothering three children. Being flexible with my time goes hand in hand with feeling fulfilled. Every single day I try to remind myself to find the fun. Keep picking up the breadcrumbs, saying yes to what ignites me. It’s in that magical space that more opportunities flow my way.
Pricing:
- Heirloom House tries to provide a wide range of price points for our vintage finds. You can find a great gift for $200 or an antique armoire for $1,200.
- My art prints come in two sizes and are $48 and $68
- Average acrylic painting is $400
- Average oil painting is $1000
- Contact for mural quotes!
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.shopdorothyart.com and www.shopheirloomhouse.com
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/dorothyart and www.instagram.com/shopheirloomhouse
- Facebook: https://Www.facebook.com/dorothyart
- Twitter: https://Www.twitter.com/artdorothy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uovzq9feYuo
