Opening Day

January 11, 2013 was kind of a big day for me. I opened an art gallery on the Bowery in New York. Annie thought it might be vaguely interesting to chronicle that day, so here is for your enjoyment:

The beauty brains behind Garis & Hahn.

8:03am- Wake up, check email, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram- post a photo about the day, because 1) I am excited and 2) my press agent is encouraging me to be more interactive on social media outlets relating to the gallery.

9:00- Meet the art handlers, artists, curators at the space to finish the installation of the art works. Start setting up a borrowed card table in our storage closet to temporarily house our printers and office supplies.

9:40- Sophie arrives at the space, and I leave to get my hair blown out for the big event.

11:00- Quick stop back at my apartment to feed Ray and grab a piece of Diane’s famous sausage bread for breakfast/lunch. Slight hair-related panic attack that may have had something to do with low blood sugar.

11:15ish- Arrive back at the space to assist with the install and lighting, and begin preparing press materials for the afternoon.

12:30pm – Man comes to install vinyl lettering on wall with exhibition information and vinyls for glass façade that say “GARIS & HAHN”

1:10p- Vinyl man finishes. Sophie and I go out to the sidewalk to admire our names on the door and have a dramatic HIGH FIVE moment.

1:11- Frantically trying to figure out how to properly format the checklist and press release for the show. AND playing with printing on our new letterhead and new printers. Meanwhile, contractors are here helping the artists set up lighting on their works. This takes hours.

1:20- Sophie runs next door to Whole Foods to buy Pellegrino and Voss and some assorted cookies to have out for visitors.

2:00 – Press appointment with a journalist, but she’s a no show. Continue playing with checklist format.

3:29ish- Lighting is finally perfect. The remaining artists go home to get ready for the reception.

3:30ish- Another press appointment with a Lower East Side blog. One of the artists is friends with the editor and stops by to contribute to the interview.

4:30- Sophie and I realize we look like jayhoos. We walk back to my apartment to get ready. On the way we run into our photographer for the evening and send her to the gallery where the curator Andrea is gallery sitting for a bit. Also, it starts to rain.

4:35-Sophie and I freshen up while blasting Ellie Goulding’s “Anything Could Happen.” I say blasting, because we were competing with Brian’s extremely loud playing of the “Les Miserables 25^th Anniversary Concert” DVD… Meanwhile back at the gallery, our photographer Emma is taking install shots and getting set up.

5:30- Rush back to the gallery in the rain. Sophie’s boyfriend Elliott has started setting up the bar, and everything seems to be ready.

5:45- Veuve Clicquot toast to start it all off.            

6:00-9:00- It’s a blur… the turn out for the opening reception ranks somewhere between incredible and shocking… I estimate somewhere between 200 to 300 people came out in the rain in January, and one of our artists estimates as high as 600! The space was packed, I saw so many friends and met some great people. I hope everyone had a fantastic time- Sophie and I certainly did!

9:00pm- Walk down the street to The Bowery Electric for our after party with the artists. Find my parents, eat a slice of Two Boots pizza that we brought in for “dinner” and procure a drink. Catch up with my friends, take some pics, change out of my heels into flats.

12:20am- Home sweet home.

12:30- Discover my sister Caroline is inadvertently locked out of her hotel and has to stay the night with me. Am SO EXCITED.

1:30ish- Finally fall asleep after a very exhausting and emotionally overwhelming day.

10:03am- Wake up, because I own a gallery and have to work on Saturdays now.

*Special shout out to my roommate Brian, with the help of Caroline and Blake, who ran all over town procuring, wine, beer, ice, and 2 industrial trash bins. AMAZING PEOPLE.

**Special shout out: part 2 to Elliott, Brian, Val & Scott Bryant, and Blake who helped run the bar and cleaned up the trash!

...just a day in the life,

mg