The woman behind the wild and whimsical Wave GalleryFor 25 years Phyllis Satin has offered an oasis of whimsy and novelty to harried downtown workers seeking a refuge from their daily cares.
The Wave Gallery occupies a modest space at 1046 Chapel Street, midway between two other New Haven landmarks - Claire's Corner Copia and Atticus Bookstore/Café - and a block east of the imposing Yale University Art Gallery. While there are paintings posted along the top of the Wave Gallery's high walls, it's more gift shop than art gallery, brimming with colorful and creative items that define the phrase "one of a kind."
"People know if they come to us they will find something unique - a handmade jacket, a hand-crafted piece of jewelry," says Satin. "People come in and they want to have a nice time. We work to make it an enjoyable experience."
You can buy anything from a $1.65 chunk of handmade chocolate to a $1,200 necklace. In between there are scarves, soaps and teas; handblown glass, clocks and mirrors; cookware, ceramic mugs and napkins; Buddha busts, granite cheese servers and wood carvings; artisan jewelry, metal figurines and all manner of whimsical art. Most of the items are colorful, and many are one of a kind.
Ironically, the wildly popular Pandora jewelry line has become Wave Gallery's top selling item, partly because it's the only downtown store that carries the line. But for the most part, walking through the store is an experience in discovery. In this corner you find a wood and mixed media sculpture of a green and blue parrot perched atop a tiny green globe. Take a couple of steps and you see Michaud's Pasta Sauce (all natural, naturally). Explore a little deeper and you'll find a turtle - a Folkmanis soft green turtle puppet complete with retractable head.
"It's becoming harder and harder to find the unusual," acknowledges Satin, who travels to arts and crafts shows up and down the East Coast in search of distinctive gift items. Artists are finding it more difficult to sell handmade items in an era of global competition and increased mass production, she says, adding that she enjoys supporting artists.
And Wave Gallery's customers are there to find the unusual. "It's the most unique boutique I've ever been in," says regular customer Francine Vermiglio of Wallingford as she browses the store looking for a Mother's Day gift. "They have a lot of things of a poetic nature, with enlightening sayings. I love to buy gifts here, because people always ask me, 'Where did you get it?'"
Jill Sanderson of Washington, D.C. was in town for a conference at Yale when she skipped out to do some window shopping and walked into Wave Gallery. "I really like the mix of stuff, the variety," she says.
Satin named her gallery after the ocean waters of her hometown of Belle Harbor, N.Y. It began as a small art gallery she would open every winter in her summer home in Milford. As it became more popular she decided to open a storefront in New Haven. The gallery was located on College Street from 1985 to 1997, when Satin moved into the current spot. She operates a second store, now called Twig, in Newport, R.I., and employs nine people between the two sites.
Satin met her husband Joseph while attending the University of Bridgeport, where she majored in English and minored in art. After college she taught high school students for about three years, then had the first of two children and did not return to teaching. Instead she pursued her interest in art by opening the winter gallery in Milford.
"I like engaging with people and getting to go out and buy great stuff," Satin says. "I'm still shocked to see people buying things in my store."
For Satin, one of the biggest challenges in running a business that deals in creativity is to keep control of your inventory. "You have to be very careful, because you fall in love with your merchandise," she says. "You end up with a warehouse filled with 'some of my favorite things.'"
Satin actually sold off her warehouse inventory last year in order to operate more efficiently, she says: "It's easy to buy and hard to sell. Sometimes you want to buy a lot of one item that you like, because you can't always reorder handmade items. It's an art, not a science."
At one point, Satin decided to expand her business and she opened Wave Gallery stores in Madison and Westport as well as a second New Haven store on Whitney Avenue, but each of those stores closed after a few years, due to various reasons. Part of the problem is that it's difficult to duplicate the unique appeal of the original downtown New Haven storefront.
"We become a part of people's lives," she says. "We know the occasions they buy for, and we love to help people find just the right gift. A lot of our customers, and our artists, become friends. It's about people."
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