Brass Light Gallery: A beacon in the Menomonee Valley

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In the middle of the ground floor of the enormous Brass Light Gallery complex there is a large, mostly empty room. Its bare walls are made of pressure-cleaned cream city brick. The front of the room, which looks out on St. Paul Avenue, has been sectioned off by mirrors in ornate wooden frames. An extravagant cut crystal chandelier, along with a variety of other lighting fixtures, is reflected in the mirrors. So are the massive horizontal steel and concrete forms of the Marquette Interchange outside.

The partially complete room is symbolic of the enterprise that surrounds it: A showcase for its products, a model of business acumen, a distinctive place within its downtown Milwaukee context, and replete with the energy of visionary potential. Stephen Kaniewski, the owner of Brass Light, tells me that this room eventually will replace the current second floor showrooms. The one thing it lacks, he says, is a view into the manufacturing section of the operation. Final renovation will include some kind of window or glass doors to correct that, he assures me proudly, because it is the manufacturing end of the business that distinguishes the Brass Light Gallery: “We make our products right here. We’re ‘made in the USA’.”

This is no idle, self-promoting boast in the current economic climate. During a period characterized by businesses moving offshore, when manufacturing jobs in the U.S. plunged from 19 million to 12 million, the Brass Light Gallery has not only remained in Milwaukee, it has continually expanded. In fact, Kaniewski started the company—which specializes in custom-designed brass fixtures—from scratch 40 years ago and it has been growing ever since.

Kaniewski fondly remembers the moment when, at 16 years old, he first went into a “fabulous movie palace” (the Warner Theater) and saw its “gorgeous Art Deco lobby, with beautiful French Rococo chandeliers.” He witnessed someone buffing old brass fixtures, restoring them. “He turned this tarnished piece of brass into a beautiful architectural element,” Kaniewski says. “That was it: I was hooked.”

Kaniewski  began the business in a basement on Milwaukee’s south side. In 1978 he “moved to 5^th and National when everyone was moving out to the suburbs.” By way of explanation he adds, “I’ve always loved the central city with its unique architectural character.” Since that time as the company grew he has twice more moved to neighborhoods that “had seen better days,” as he puts it. The move to the Menomonee Valley in 2006 in the shadow of the High Rise Bridge was, if anything, the most challenging. He purchased two vintage buildings, built circa 1898 and 1953, that had been abandoned and boarded up. The Marquette Interchange project was already underway; the freeway literally was being torn down all around him. St. Paul Avenue was closed for a year.

Owner Stephen Kaniewski on the factory floor

But where others saw liabilities Kaniewski saw opportunities. It took two years to complete the move to the St. Paul location and six years later, with manufacturing in full swing, large sections of the 1898 building are still being renovated. Kaniewski envisions renting the excess space to compatible businesses, such as cottage industries that might include metalworking and glass. The St. Paul Avenue corridor is undergoing its own renovation as a light manufacturing and retail outlet district. Kaniewski, sensitive to his surroundings, considers the Brass Light Gallery “a gateway to the Menomonee Valley” on St. Paul Avenue.

This vision, which clearly encompasses the big picture, is complemented by attention to detail as well as aesthetics. Whether it is a meticulously polished nickel-plated brass fixture, a scrupulously restored antique, or the narrow strip of earth between the buildings and the street saved for flowers during sidewalk reconstruction, Kaniewski is resolute. He maintains matter-of-factly that it’s a “no-brainer” to take care of things, to make them presentable. It is an attitude that extends from the products that he sells to the property he owns.

It is no wonder the Brass Light Gallery attracts customers from around the country. In a time when most industries compete with formulaic business plans, Kaniewski takes a more personal, non-formula stance. The success and growth that have followed benefit not only the company but also the community. In fact, Kaniewski’s faith in his new location bodes well for the still redeveloping Menomonee Valley. Call him prescient, perhaps: each of the neighborhoods where Brass Light previously was located has seen revitalization and unequivocal economic growth.

Photo essay:

 

This post is one in a series that relates to my Menomonee Valley Artist in Residency. For more information about the residency and links to previous posts and photographs, go to MV AiR. 

Bad debt is good business!

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The first thing I notice about the nondescript two-story brick building is the sign. Or, to be more precise, the wrong sign. I’m looking for Professional Placement Services (PPS). I check the address again. I’m at the corner of 12^th and Mount Vernon and number on the building matches. But I see only “Signarama” in bright red lettering. I wonder how much privacy a collection agency needs.

After confirming that I’m in the correct building the second thing I notice are the locks on the doors. In the main lobby I press the call button, identify myself and hear the familiar click of a lock disengaging. On the second floor I find myself in a glass cage confronted by another locked door and another call button. This time when I push it there is no answer. Immediately beyond the glass cage is a vacant reception desk. I tap on the glass, gingerly. To the concern for privacy add security.

The next thing I notice contradicts everything I’ve been seeing. Before long I am admitted and introduced to Craig, co-owner, with his wife Irina, of PPS. Craig’s face lights up with a genuineness that is disarming. His bright smile and warm greeting dispel the cloak and dagger aura evoked by the anonymous, locked-down facility.

Irina and Craig

PPS is a successful and growing business with 40 employees and 180 clients. “We’re experts in collection,” Craig says. “Our clients want to outsource collection activities to the experts.” Their clients include local and national retailers, banks, health care companies and various levels of government. And, yes, I’m told fervently, security is one of the primary concerns. The locked doors—and the surveillance cameras I hadn’t even noticed—are intended to protect the privacy of client businesses and debt-laden consumers alike.

I confess ignorance about the business of collection. Craig, who hears this all the time, is energized. The company makes 35,000 calls a day, he tells me. “We want to help people get out of debt. Our big message is, ‘Communicate with us’.” Clearly relishing the subject, he elaborates, “Some people have an image of us as the collector at the door with a baseball bat. We work hard to change that.” Their primary goal, he says, is to enable people to manage their finances. In a soft, compassionate tone he suggests, “Everyone goes through times that are tough. We want to understand the situation and work with them.”

Debt collection, says Craig, is important to the economy and the local community. “It's the backbone of a credit-based economy. The money we collect helps keep businesses operating, helps owners make payroll and provide benefits, helps to keep people employed. It also helps government avoid tax increases.”

When I ask why they located their business in the Menomonee Valley I am graced with another of Craig’s ingenuous smiles. He and Irina moved the company from the Third Ward to the Valley in 2008. He ticks off the advantages of the new location: its central location, proximity to bus lines, available parking, nearby eateries for lunch. “The Menomonee Valley is a great place for a company like us to start and grow.” In fact, PPS has tripled in size since its move to the Valley and could add 50-100 new employees in the next couple years, he declares confidently.

The Menomonee Valley is also in what is known in the collection industry as a Hub Zone. This is a federal designation that identifies places in need of revitalization. Being in the Valley qualifies PPS to offer its services to the federal government, a distinct advantage. It is one of the reasons that Craig and Irina chose not only to locate here but also to invest in the Valley by purchasing the property with expansion in mind.

Craig’s interest in the Valley goes beyond the material benefits to his business of the location, however. The disparity of our personal experiences begins to resolve into greater harmony as he asserts, “The whole story of the Valley is great. It went from swampland to the manufacturing age and now it’s turning another corner. You can see new businesses…and you see trout and salmon. There are fishermen in the river. Just a few short years ago you wouldn’t have seen that.”

I meet Irina, who is a brisk and businesslike foil to Craig’s gregariousness. “I’m the boss,” she says right off. I glance towards Craig. “He knows I’m the boss,” she adds with a smile. They have an infectious natural affinity as well as a mutual regard for their business. “We’ve been excited about the company for many years,” she says enthusiastically. Then Craig adds something I never expected to hear about a collection agency: “It’s a fun business!” I’m inclined to skepticism but Craig’s enthusiastic demeanor evaporates my doubt.

As I gather up my camera gear and head for the door Craig offers parting advice: “If you should ever get a call from us, talk to us!” He grins as he holds open the door for me.

Let me introduce a few of the PPS staff. Because privacy is in fact a genuine concern I am using only their first names.

Roberto, Account Representative

Ann, Account Representative

Dan, operations manager, with Craig

Jenaya, Account Representative

Josh, Account Representative

Jeff, Assistant Collection Manager

This post is one in a series that relates to my Menomonee Valley Artist in Residency. For more information about the residency and links to previous posts and photographs, go to MV AiR.

 

Support Arts Education; make something happen

If you missed it in yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, here is my letter to the editor about supporting the arts and the businesses that are trying to promote the “creative industries” in Milwaukee. (This version is slightly longer than the 200-word limit imposed by the MJS. Original version here.)

Business should support education

In the Oct. 16 Crossroads was an article about Innovation in Milwaukee (MiKE), which “is branded a design, technology and innovation cluster.” (Op ed: "Grab the MiKe; make something happen") MiKE is a laudable effort by local businesses to spur start-ups and growth in businesses that involve design and technology, often referred to as the “creative industries.” As a long-time artist and educator, I can only applaud any effort that “puts art at the center of economic development.”

The op ed was more informational than editorial. The information about MiKE is welcome. Let’s put the word out often and loud about the value of the arts to business and economic development. 

However, I saw a missed opportunity to make a broader point. The authors, Messrs. Jeffries and Teske (Exec. V.P. at Kohl’s Corp. and CEO of Brigg’s & Stratton, Corp. respectively), assert, “One of our region's greatest resources is its talented workforce….” They observe that this workforce “is continuously bolstered by the students graduating from our world-class colleges and universities.”

Well and good, but from where are these college students coming? From a pool of elementary and secondary students who already are experiencing an array of impediments to a quality education because of recent policy changes in Madison and consequent budget cuts to schools nearly everywhere in Wisconsin. Ironically, the first disciplines to get the ax are always the arts.

If business wants to grow its creative workforce, it will have to lend moral and monetary support to the foundations of public education and, in particular, arts education.