World Market veterans applaud arts program

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

World Market veterans applaud arts program

Artists say Gaithersburg program helped launch their businesses

by Chris Robinson | Staff Writer

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Chris Rossi⁄The Gazette

Paraplegic artist Matthew Roth of Germantown works on a drawing at his home. Roth and other participants in the City World Market say that the program has helped launch their business.

Whether painted, carved or stitched, Gaithersburg’s inaugural City World Market hosted a fresh outlet for the arts during the Celebrate Gaithersburg festival in Olde Towne last fall.

Now, as the program — which aims to arm area entrepreneurs with the business savvy to succeed —ramps up for its second year of offerings this September, several vendors featured last year say they’ve seen results of its free business training and in helping boost exposure of their companies.

Since setting up a booth at World Market for his company, Hands-Off Art, Germantown resident Matthew Roth said he’s seen the reception grow for his works.

This includes hosting an exhibition in March at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, he said.

A childhood accident damaged Roth’s spinal cord, paralyzing him from the neck down. Roth persevered, though, and manages to paint by holding an art pencil in his mouth.

Roth said he most enjoys fleshing out intricate architecture of structures, such as the Russian Basilica. It can take two months for a single picture, he said.

‘‘I love it, it’s very rewarding,” he said of his craft. ‘‘That it’s a thing I’m creating out of nothing.”

Roth said his decision to set up at the World Market this year is contingent on transportation and timing.

For David Thompson, co-owner of All About Signs with his wife Carmen Falcon, the festival lead to a lucrative, long-term contract providing signage for Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, among deals with other area corporations. All About Signs creates high-end corporate designs, such as stainless steel letters, custom interior acrylic plaques and pylon locator signs.

‘‘It’s a great avenue to go through,” said Thompson, of Germantown. ‘‘There’s all kind of information to get off the ground.”

Thompson, a sign man since he was 13 years old, said he’s now projecting $150,000 for 2007, up from about $30,000 last year. He plans to purchase a storefront in Germantown for All About Signs.

He said All About Signs will have a booth at World Market this year.

Entrepreneurs can receive 10 hours of free business development training at Montgomery College during the summer on topics such as loans and business regulation.

Currently 36 people are registered for this year’s event, including 24 participating in the training, said the Gaithersburg human services director Crystal Carr.

Registration is open until July 25. Applications are available at www.gaithersburgmd.gov.

The World Market is a collaboration between the city, the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce, the Mid Atlantic Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Montgomery College.

Carr said she’s eager to advance the program with new initiatives, such as developing catalogs for the vendors and establishing an artists cooperative.