The Village Artisans Gallery announces the retirement of founder PJ Heyman of Boiling Springs and the sale of the gallery to fellow artist Richelle Dourte, also of Boiling Springs, effective October 15, 2024.
“It is wonderful that The Village Artisans Gallery will remain open in Boiling Springs. Richelle Dourte is a professional artist and, I am sure, will continue to provide high quality American craft and fine art in the gallery” PJ Heyman said.
PJ has been the proprietor of The Village Artisans Gallery since its opening on April 1, 1995. She and Gay Foltz, of Foltz Woodcarving Studio, have worked together since the inception of the gallery to introduce the public to the quality and uniqueness of American handcrafted works. The gallery is housed in a historic 1875 church building. Inside its light filled interior you will find Foltz Woodcarving Studio filled with her whimsical wood carvings and conversation and a gallery space with the creative work of more than one hundred Pennsylvania and national craft and fine artists. The quality of both the traditional and contemporary work found in the gallery is testimony to its high standards.
Over her 29 years in business as The Village Artisans Gallery, PJ Heyman has won numerous, both local and national, awards as a top craft retailer. She has dedicated her time and effort giving back to the community through volunteering with organizations including the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen and its Yellow Breeches Chapter, American Craft Week, Foundry Day Arts and Crafts Festival and the Boiling Springs Civic Association. As PJ prepares for retirement, she leaves the legacy of a cornerstone gallery she has built from the ground up.
The transition of The Village Artisans Gallery is akin to a dream come true for its new owner, Richelle Dourte, of “metalledwith” jewelry. Dourte has been an artist represented within the gallery for over a decade with her botanical metalwork jewelry. She is a resident of Boiling Springs and is invested in the Boiling Springs community through volunteer work such as organizing the annual BS Civic Association Progressive Dinner. In her career at “metalledwith”, Richelle has taught metalworking lessons privately and in groups, attended craft shows locally and in surrounding states, served and helped to organize through the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, and has enjoyed creating her metalwork as well as completely custom jewelry for clients. Through “metalledwith”, she has sought to help people learn about the natural world through the use of foraged botanicals from native PA trees. From the native flora, to local food, to her neighbors, Richelle Dourte shows a consistent interest in all that is local to create a sense of place.
PJ Heyman’s foundation of promoting American fine art and craft has brought regular visitors from near and far. Richelle fully intends to continue the tradition. Richelle and PJ share a commitment to high quality American made craftsmanship, as well as a great appreciation for their shared village of Boiling Springs.
