by Eileen Watkins

hen Sally Walker took over the Kornbluth Gallery in 1990, she faced a trial by fire.

The Walker-Kornbluth Gallery as seen from the outside.

On one hand, the Fair Lawn, N.J., showcase came with a fine location, a long, successful track record and a sterling reputation. On the other, the Gulf War had made the gallery’s usual customers nervous, and they seemed more reluctant than usual to part with their money. Plus, Walker admits, she brought to her new role no experience with the financial end of running a business.

At mid-life, she had to learn new skills, and fast.

She rose to the challenge, and today the Walker-Kornbluth Gallery remains one of the longest-lived businesses of its kind in its home state. Walker has made several adaptations over the years in her business strategy, and one has been to shift the emphasis from fine art to fine crafts.

Lillian Kornbluth began the gallery in her home in 1965, but moved it two years later to its present site — a corner storefront on Fair Lawn Avenue, the main street of the upscale suburb. The space encompasses 2,000 square feet including art framing and work rooms. “It was mostly fine art to start with, but always had some crafts,” recalls Walker.

She started assisting Kornbluth part-time on weekends in the early 1980s and came on full-time in 1985. Finally, when Kornbluth retired in 1990, Walker took the helm.

Sally Walker inside the Walker-Kornbluth Gallery.

I had no idea of the number of things I’d have to keep track of,” she says. “I had to pay the bills, talk to the landlord about any problems and handle the utilities. It was all new to me because Lillian didn’t deal with many of those things — her husband did. Her end all had to do with the art.”

Walker’s own husband George, a commercial artist and framer, brought other skills to the business, while she took an accounting course and learned to do the books. But she still had to worry about having enough sales to tally.

“It was kind of frightening,” she says. “This was just as the Gulf War had started, and there was a deep recession in the art world for several years. It was tough getting going. If the gallery hadn’t been well-established already, I might not have made it.”

It helps to have a second income or substantial savings when you start out, Walker advises. “This business can be very up-and-down, and cash flow can become a problem.”

She also got assistance from her predecessor, who at the time still lived in New Jersey. “Lillian was wonderful. I talked to her on the phone every day, and she still helped me hang shows. She was a real mentor to me.” Kornbluth moved to California in 1998.

Walker in the gallery with other featured work.

Some aspects of the gallery’s transition had more to do with style. “I took over an existing business with a certain aesthetic,” says Walker. “This is a suburbia, and we can’t show the extreme cutting edge, but we also don’t want pedestrian things. We show work that is unusual but not outré.”

She gradually brought in more fine crafts, and believes they are helping her weather the current market, similar in many ways to that of 1990. “Again, people are very nervous, due to the war and rising prices for gas and heating oil,” she points out. “I need to have things that are affordable.

“Jewelry and glass are always good sellers. I love ceramics, but I don’t buy much because my customers are more interested in glass. Also, they like a refined, sophisticated look, rather than rustic.”

Walker in the gallery with other featured work.

She recommends that anyone starting a gallery study the clientele he or she wants to reach. “If you’re new to an area, tour the businesses to get a feeling for the local tastes,” she says. “And not just the other galleries, but the clothing, jewelry and furniture stores.” You’ll get a feel, she says, for whether the locals are strictly traditional or open to things that are quirky and avant-garde.

With regard to marketing, Walker mainly takes ads in upscale magazines and in the New Jersey section of The New York Times, because she finds that those reach her ideal customers. She says she’s still “working toward” a Web site but probably will never sell online.

She scouts for promising artisans at the Buyers Market of American Craft in Philadelphia and the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore. Still, she finds a lot of talent close to home. “People send me slides or just walk in,” she says. “I have some really interesting local talent.”

She chooses what work to show based on quality, and says; “I see a wide range of quality, even in juried shows. I also look for color, especially in glass, because my customers respond to it.”

Walker believes a gallery owner should never compromise his or her principles. “People sometimes tell me I should show a certain kind of thing because ‘it really sells,’ but if I don’t like it and don’t think it’s good, I won’t carry it,” she says. “I know I won’t be able to convey any enthusiasm to a customer.”

She notes that she has introduced some media not seen in the original Kornbluth gallery. “Lillian never showed a lot of metal sculpture or furniture, but I like it.” She points to one piece she carried recently, a chair fashioned from recycled traffic signs, by Rhode Island sculptor Boris Bally. She’s also starting for the first time to feature some wearable art.

“It’s very important to me that everything here be of high quality, because that’s what this gallery always has been about,” Walker explains. “I choose things I would like to live with, and I think people can sense a consistent level of taste. But I’m always looking for someone new and wonderful!”

Eileen Watkins is a free-lance writer based in New Jersey who specializes in art, fine crafts, architecture and interior design. She covered these subjects for more than 25 years for “The Star-Ledger,” New Jersey’s largest daily newspaper.

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