Scandinavian Art Gallery Triggers Cultural Phenomenon

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"We didn't open to edify the neighborhood about what the place used to be but I must admit the local community is very excited about what we're doing, including the city of St. Paul," [Jim Davidson] said. "There has definitely been shift in focus since opening last November. We're becoming more integrated with the neighborhood and lifting up the Swedish heritage."

"I was tired of being in business," he said. "I was in business since I was pretty young and just doing business for business' sake. This is different. It's pretty exciting because it feels like we're leaving some sort of legacy in the way the community is seeing Nordic art. It's also different than how I saw it when I started. It looks like I am shifting gears to become a bit of a trumpet for Nordic and Swedish culture."

"I never saw that selling housewares," he said. "People didn't go down a row of cleaning products and say, 'Wow.' Here, people come in not really knowing what to expect and you can see them say, 'Wow.' That's fun."

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Scandinavian Art Gallery Triggers Cultural Phenomenon

The gallery specializes in original art from Northern Europe, especially Scandinavia. At first, however, Davidson had no intention of playing on the area's Swedish roots. He just wanted to sell art.

"We didn't open to edify the neighborhood about what the place used to be but I must admit the local community is very excited about what we...

See the full content of this document

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