With money tighter for everyone these days, Victoria York says she truly believes that people are shopping differently. People want to know the money they spend matters, she says, and this is why she believes people are going to start shopping the Victoria Design Studio way.
York’s Victoria Design Stu-dio is located within Merchants on Main on East Main Street, and in Reliks and Clyde’s Resale Shop, both on Rossville Boulevard. At these locations, York offers products such as jewelry, organic clothing, fine art, furniture, home goods, eco-friendly gadgets, and more. Her philosophy: art is for everyone and can be used to enrich the quality of life for customers, artisans and providers through fair trade and humanitarian networks, while working to preserve the planet’s natural resources through sustainable and recycled products.
York says, “People are realizing that buying organic is not a ‘hippie’ thing anymore. It’s affecting our health. I want to see this store grow. I want it to be the way people shop.”
York’s journey toward establishing this new way of shopping began in her home state of New Jersey, where her mother encouraged York in the arts and exposed her to theater, and where her father, on his deathbed, told York to “go do your art.” York says she had never had an art lesson, but in honor of her father, she started her art. Painting after painting sold, and York was ready to take her art to the next level when she became unexplainably very sick. This lasted a very long time, York says, but when she pulled through it, she wanted to return to it and not let down those who were supporting her.
York began exploring different venues of art and began to realize the feelings she had connected with art in her desire to make a difference within humanitarian projects.
From there, opportunities continued to roll in for York and her vision. Her art studio became something very different as it transformed into associat-ing the design studio with fair trade items and products that could make a difference in multiple lives.
York went to Africa and became involved in groups like Overcomers By Grace, whichworks with the handicapped, and Kings of Kabera, a group that raises $48 per child to send them to school and off the streets. By working with these programs, York realized she could give back by having a portion of the proceeds of her products go to these worthy humanitarian efforts which are virtually unheard of.
In this way, each jewelry item purchased on the Victoria Design Studio Web site sends a child to school. York personally puts in the rest of the money not covered by the cost of the jewelry to make sure a child is sent to school. Also, with York’s fair trade items, she ensures the artists making the products she sells, have fair working conditions and fair pay. “Here, I didn’t think I had the opportunity to help. I was just an artist, and then suddenly these things are falling into my lap,” she says. “Not only can you help, you can change someone’s life.”
From there, York further expanded her reach of assistance by helping to establish the New City Eats, an East Lake Community Food Outreach. While there are plenty of food outreaches in Chattanooga, none existed in East Lake before this program, York says.
York and her business partner and daughter-in-law, Kaylee York, have also been working with a Realtor to make their business a full-fledged shop that they plan to open this summer. As part of this expansion and continued effort to reach out to those in need, York is compiling a photo journal based on the gates she encountered in Africa that were the face of the community and the homes in that area.
The “Gates of Nairobi” photo collection will enlist the help of other artists to put together an art show of works based on this theme. These works will be everything from photographic, canvas, mixed media, and multidimensional art projects. The proceeds from the photo journals and art show will be donated to humanitarian efforts.
York says they are always looking for local artists to aid in this effort and with Victoria Design Studio products. She says, “We strive to eradicate poverty and hunger across the globe and in our own hometown. At Victoria Design Studio, our philosophy is that you can live fabulously while staying in harmony with nature and humanity. ... We work around the clock to find the most exquisite environmentally friendly, handcrafted, fair-trade and organic goods to enrich your home and body.”
For more information on Victoria Design Studio, visit www.VictoriaDesignStudio.com.