What's New in Business

Butterfly House Closing, Gallery to Have New 'SMart' Artist Soon; L.A. Fitness on Stone Mountain Hwy Open

'What's New in Business' is an ongoing feature of business news in Stone Mountain and Lithonia.

Last Day for the Butterfly House in Stone Mountain Village Susan Ryles, Main Street Stone Mountain and Downtown Development Authority executive director, has decided to close her Butterfly House gallery in Stone Mountain Village. Today (Monday, Dec. 31) is its last day. In a letter addressed to artist friends and shared with Patch, Ryles' wrote: After great internal struggle and consideration, I will be closing Butterfly House Studio in Stone Mountain Village at its current location on East Mountain Street effective December 31, 2012. She goes on to write: Most of you know, I took on a new job in July of 2012 as the Executive Director for Main Street Stone Mountain and the Downtown Development Authority. With this change I came out of the …

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Q&A With Susan Ryles

The new Main Street Stone Mountain executive director envisions more art, restaurants and funky shops coming to Stone Mountain Village in the future. But first, finding funding for various initiatives is key.

Susan Ryles, the new executive director of Main Street Stone Mountain, recently shared her vision, hopes and goals for Stone Mountain Village with Patch: Q. What are your top three goals as the new executive director of Main Street Stone Mountain (MSSM)? A. Top 3 Goals 1. Find Funding 2. Find Funding 3. Find Funding   It's like in real estate, they always say the 3 most important things are location, location, location. For Main Street and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) it's funding, funding, funding. We in the Village are not short on ideas to improve our fair little Village. Most of those ideas however, require funding which is in short supply. We will be exploring at a variety of funding options for Main Street and the …

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Stone Mountain Artist Explores Contradictions in Human Nature

Clay sculptures reflect the metamorphosis of life.

When you walk into Butterfly House Studio in downtown Stone Mountain it’s apparent that the artist behind the work, Susan Ryles, is open to change. A brief tour of her studio displays an amazing variety of clay sculptures, each with its own story. Colorful necklaces with ceramic pendants, jewel-toned, shapely altars, a ceramic pair of beaters, a prickly sea-green wall sconce that looks as if it was just dredged from the sea — each original, hand-built and unique. “I am interested in exploring the psychology of the self, my own aging process, gender roles and expectations, as well as the social psychology of politics and religion,” Ryles writes in her artist statement. The butterfly, a symbol for metamorphosis with its life cycle from …

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Art Beat

Angela Williams Gives to Community Through Art

Teaching kids, adults and groups keeps her art alive.

Angela Williams likes connecting with people through her art. Whether she’s working with young students or a couple attending date nights in the studio, reaching out to others is essential to her creativity. Williams, who owns Angelic Art Studio, is part of the SMart program in the city of Stone Mountain, created to give the arts a bigger presence in the city while giving artists an opportunity to launch their own businesses. The city leases and furnishes the artists with studio spaces for a limited time, while the artists provide supplies, pay a nominal fee for rent, attend business and art classes and pay the city 30 percent commission on any work sold.  The art micro-enterprise program is a part of an economic revitalization partnership…

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