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Volume 3, Issue 14
ARTLIFTParasol finds a way to support art, make money,and live happily on the appetites of birds.
It's not quite enough to say they're in the birdfeeder business. That's like saying Frank Gehry is a builder. Parasol makes art. Co-founders Alfredo García-Lucio and Jim McKeever are firm believers that a worthwhile object balances form and function. A company mantra is that an object which provides only one or the other just gets in the way. As Jim explains, "Our birdfeeder is designed to bring beauty into the yard on its own merit; it does not rely on the bird." As though proving this point, a group of these lovelies hang like vitreous fruits from a iron tree in Parasol's whimsical lobby. The only bird customer is, of course, fake. Jim and Alfredo meet me at Parasol headquarters, which is, fittingly, in a refurbished warehouse. Fitting because, after all, much of what they do is receive, store, and ship. But it's immediately apparent that much more transpires here. A staff of about 15 hurry about the business of birdfeeders. Some are packing feeders as carefully as you'd put a baby to bed. Others are constructing a fiberglass tree for displaying the brilliant glass orbs at trade shows. A few are tracking orders. But no matter how harried the individual, the place offers calm. It seems everything has been thought out, planned. Even stacks of boxes and walls of glass possess an order and a rhythm. This kind of attention to detail does not merely matter in this office; it is celebrated, even worshipped. The office is decked out in a pseudo-industrial, aluminum and fake grass sort of way that only an artist can pull off. Imperfect feeders have been hung upside down as wall vases. Squares of Astroturf once used in store displays have been reclaimed as wall decor. And then there's the art. Parasol has quietly grown a collection of work by regional artists. Jim and Alfredo buy what they like, aiming simply to "get our employees surrounded by art." Fortunately, the two partners say, they are in tune when it comes to choosing pieces; they buy only those that affect both of them strongly. Jim allows that this big open warehouse has been a wonderful side benefit of the business, since it allows them to collect larger pieces than would fit at home. The collection is varied, tied together by their fondness for each and every work. Many of the pieces do involve wing imagery: appropriate, but not provably intentional. There is David Zimmer's silvery self-portrait, a riveting headshot centered on a delicate Dürer drawing of wings. There is, too, Ramon Guillen Valmes' For a Last Trip: an enormous buttery-looking wing made from strips of wood veneer (that curl just like feathers!), tipped with metal grommets and connected to a cage-like metal cocoon/ seed pod. A series composed of three blue birdies and a text panel by Kimberlee Sullivan similarly celebrates things with wings. Other artists represented at Parasol include Dale Chisman, Tracy Weil, Mark Sink, and Kokko Aoyama. Each piece elicits excitement from the two owners, who genuinely love to talk about artists and art. Jim and Alfredo really believe in supporting local artists. Alfredo stresses that "there's nothing wrong with posters or prints, but if you can get the same inspiration from your neighbor, then that's even better." They count many of the artists represented in their collection as friends and take an active role in the local arts scene in other ways, such as serving on the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art/ Denver. Alfredo is himself an artist. Prior to Parasol, he studied and worked in a dizzying array of creative fields including architecture, interior design, fashion design, and photography. It was his successful Garden Follies standing birdfeeders/ planters created for the Botanic Gardens' BirdHaus Bash which inspired them to search for commercial possibilities in bird feeders. Jim was at the time working as trade specialist for the State of Colorado, and so had the business knowledge to make Alfredo's labor-intensive feeder designs the seeds of a viable company. Parasol's first product was the Seed Trumpet, a 14-inch-tall seed dispenser with a surrounding ledge that overall looks something like a wizard's hat. On a leap of faith, they had 900 Trumpets manufactured and shipped to the first Parasol headquarters: their garage. Five years later, Jim estimates Parasol has shipped hundreds of thousands feeders nationwide. Success has been sweet, but not easy. Both men believe in doing things non-traditionally, which often means more effort. Invitations to trade shows are often handstitched. But very human touches like that are also what sets them apart. As Jim explains it, "We did what we wanted. We created what we'd like to receive." Parasol also owes much of its success to plain old dogged determination. Jim and Alfredo worked (and still work) non-stop. Jim says at first they were shocked at how much they had to drop out of life. And whether they continue with the business is a daily question. "So far," Jim said, "the answer has been yes." Kimberly Graham Parasol birdfeeders are available at local garden gift shops including Birdsalls. EARLY DYLAN
350 S. Dahlia, Denver |