The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
CLOSING UP SHOP
Ginko Gallery going out of business as owner retires
Ginko Gallery, 19 S Main St. in Oberlin, will close following the retirement of the store’s owner Liz Burgess.
The store, which primarily sold local art and art supplies, will end a run that lasted more than 25 years.
“I have mixed feelings about it, but I’m not young anymore,” Burgess said.
Before becoming a proprietor of Ginko Gallery, Burgess graduated from Oberlin College in 1973 and worked as a psychiatric social worker and health care administrator.
She worked at the Nord Center for over 15 years.
Burgess said she started the store in 1997 with two other artist friends Sharon Denslow and Kathleen Van Meter.
After Denslow died and Van Meter became a full-time artist, Burgess became the sole owner of the shop.
“I was left with the business, and I think I’ve been the owner for about 19 years,” Burgess said.
She said she values the connections she made during her time as the shop’s owner.
“My favorite part is meeting all the artists,” Burgess said. “I’m always amazed at how creative individuals can be.
“We tried very hard to specialize in individual artists, or very small studios, so that the same person who thought up the artwork, had a hand in the making of it.”
New and original handmaid items were a mainstay for Ginko Gallery.
“Unlike factories, artists get bored,” Burgess said. “Even if something is selling well, they’ll decide ‘I’m moving in another direction.’
“We have a wealth of creative people in northern Ohio, and it’s an honor to be able to sell their work.”
Another iconic feature of Ginko Gallery included the kittens in the backroom of the store, which Burgess fostered through Community Action to Save Strays, a cat shelter in Oberlin.
Burgess said the kittens particularly were popular with Oberlin College students who frequented the store.
Oberlin has provided a great home for her shop, she said.
“It’s also been fun to be a part of downtown Oberlin,” Burgess said. “It’s a really interesting and thriving downtown that serves all the functions of a downtown; there’s places to shop, eat and live in, and it’s a community gathering place.”
She also credited the Oberlin community for being supportive of art.
“I don’t think the gallery and store would have been as successful probably anywhere else,” Burgess said. “I’ve had the perfect location in a community that values handmaid things.”
Following retirement, Burgess said she hopes to give more time to her volunteer work in the community.
“There comes a time in life when it’s time to retire and do some other things,” she said.
Burgess said she volunteers at the Oberlin Community Land Trust, CATSS and Kendal at Oberlin.
According to Burgess, she considered passing the reigns to someone else to run Ginko Gallery, but that the ownership situation for the building brought obstacles.
The building is owned by the estate of longtime Oberlin businesswoman Pat Stetson, who died in 2023.
“It’s difficult for anyone to make the commitment because we’re not sure of the future of the building,” Burgess said. When I realized it was in Pat’s estate, I realized this might be the time to retire.”
Ginko Gallery will begin its final sale March 12 and Burgess said everything in the store will be on sale.
“We won’t only be selling the art and art supplies, but fixtures as well,” she said. “The whole thing is bittersweet because I have loved being downtown and meeting so many wonderful people.”