The Artist as Entrepreneur |
Dale
Preston
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Dale Preston grew up in the St. Louis Area north of the city. The family property where he lived as a boy is just east of the current campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His mother had been born and reared on that same land. A whole extended family grew up there. Both Preston and his wife are graduates of the University of Missouri in Columbia. They were married during their junior year. She studied music and became a teacher while he pursued social work. After graduation, they returned to the St. Louis area and lived in the Soulard neighborhood.
The following interview with Dale Preston was conducted by Cheryl Blake, UM-St. Louis, September 2004. Q. How long have you been working in stained glass?
A. When I graduated from University of Missouri, my wife and I moved to the Soulard area. There was a Christian community we were attracted to, and we liked, the house rehabbing in that area. I worked for Family Services, and my wife taught. After a year or so, I started my own painting company. I also had a carpentry business with a couple of friends. When I began Preston Art Glass Studio, I had been a caretaker at Sts. Peter and Paul Church for about nine years. The pastor said he didn't want to hire someone to replace me and then find out I still needed the job, so he had me work twenty hours a week for the first six months of 1995. He figured I would know in six months if the business was going to take off. He also put a notice in the church bulletin about what I was starting. Q. Did you advertise when you started out?
A. I already had business experience. I had run my painting business and had the carpentry business, as well. So I knew about things like budgets. We've only had two slow periods since the business began, and there really wasn't any way to predict them. Otherwise, the hardest part about the business has been the government stuff, dealing with forms and taxes, and getting everything in on time. I like everything about the actual process of working with art glass. I enjoy designing new creations and doing repairs, cutting the glass, even cementing. It's always new. Q. And now you are moving to a new location? A. Yes. My brother and I bought the building. It was actually two buildings, both from the 1880s, with many additions in the back. It used to house a feed and seed company. Its most recent use was as a photographer's studio. It's a bigger space, and we hope to be in it by the end of October. I am selling both of the buildings on Virginia. We will be able to have classes in the main area of the new shop. There's a kitchen, and we're installing an accessible bathroom. Right now, I'm tired from working on getting the building ready for the move and trying to run the business at the same time, but I'm excited about the new place. copyright 2004, Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education, University of Missouri-St. Louis
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