Meet Jena Priebe of FOLD Gallery in Downtown Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jena Priebe.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jena. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Nearly ten years ago, I came to The Spring Arts Tower as an artist sharing a workspace with other enthusiastic artists. The Downtown Los Angeles Artwalk, already well established, was such a fantastic event to be a part of and The Spring Arts Tower was a very important part of it, thus giving me substantial opportunity to get my art out in front of the eyes of my fellow Los Angelinos who came near and far to enjoy artwalk.

FOLD Gallery was born after the owner of the Spring Arts Tower, Paul Su, approached myself and other long-term artist resident, David Lovejoy with an opportunity to have artist spaces on the mezzanine level in the same space as The Last Bookstore. We both loved the idea and The Spring Arts Collective was reborn with 6 new shops, galleries and artist work spaces.

After about 6 months, my personal artist studio started to change… I wanted to show other local artists, not just my own work. I loved the vintage found objects I used in my own artwork and what I wasn’t using also sold quite well in the shop. A light bulb went on. All of my favorite things in one well-curated mash-up. I saved every penny I could and kept reinvesting all I could.
Growing a tiny bit at a time over the following years.

It has morphed and changed, growing with each new artist, vendor and employee.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have, of course, been struggles along the way. When we first opened we would be so excited just to see a handful of people come through the gallery in a week. It took a few years for people to find us.

I was also working full time as an artist, creating artwork, putting in for shows, doing a massive Burning Man piece and even a museum show. I was doing it all. I also worked in a wine bar nearly full time as well so it wasn’t an odd week for me to work 100 hours between creating art, working in the shop and in the bar. It was exhausting. And wonderful.

I also didn’t have any investors. I built slowly, gradually and put every penny back into FOLD. Mostly vintage at first and then kept expanding at any point I could. I didn’t want a business loan or to have anyone else to have a stake in it. That was really hard. It took a lot of extra hours at the bar to come up with the revenue to increase our stock. Plus, everything was a new learning experience. I’d never started a retail business before. So, the taxes, licensing, insurance, dealing with vendors… that was a whole new world I had to learn. It was so challenging and fantastic.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about FOLD Gallery – what should we know?
FOLD sells and celebrates the local Los Angeles artist and the local Los Angeles Artisan. You can also find an ever changing selection of vintage and antiques in the shop.

FOLD is no run of the mill gallery. FOLD Gallery is about community. We love that our city is so diverse and full of wonderful creatives that have a strong voice and amazing artwork. Our gallery is dedicated to the Los Angeles artist. All of our artists are home grown right here in LA or have struck deep roots in the city.

FOLD also has an entire section of the shop devoted to “Handmade in LA”. This space honors the Los Angeles artisan. Those single person or small team businesses that pour their heart into their unique, handcrafted work. We carry a wide array of candles, wood crafted items, handbags, pipes, leather goods, soaps & lotions, journals and more.

FOLD is also vintage and antique. We specialize in vintage cameras, books, typewriters, maps, barware, nautical and radios. In our shop, you will find interesting and unique items that are the perfect gift or addition to your home or office. We will even go on the hunt for you if you have a special request.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The person I just couldn’t have done it without him, is my sweetheart Winston Secrest. We became romantically involved at nearly the same time as my move from the studio upstairs to the mezzanine. He is also an artist and understood completely my vision and goal for FOLD from the beginning. He was always able to lend a hand, work in the shop when I couldn’t be there, build gorgeous displays using his own craft, rub my back when I was totally exhausted and gave both wonderful words of encouragement and helpful constructive criticism. I am forever grateful for the time he spent helping me achieve my goal.

Another big part of FOLD’s success is the community that were a part of. Not only the talented people of the Spring Arts Collective, but our fabulous neighbor, The Last Bookstore and also the amazingly supported people at The Downtown LA Artwalk. I regularly attend cultural stakeholder meetings for our district and I just love how invested everyone is. It’s heartening that so many care about each other in Gallery Row.

Lastly, I also just couldn’t have done any of this without all of the local, talented Los Angeles artists or my own staff. Their talent, dedication and quick smiles are what drives FOLD to success.

Contact Info:

• Address: 453 South Spring Street
  M7, Los Angeles, CA 90013
• Website: FOLDdtla.com
• Phone: 213-221-4585
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: FOLDdtla
• Facebook: FOLD Gallery
• Twitter: StepintotheFOLD
• Yelp: FOLD Gallery

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