Kory Kennedy grew up in Whitehall Township but spent the last 20 years as an art director for magazines in New York City.
The 46-year-old Parsons School of Design graduate, who until last summer lived with his wife and two children in Maplewood Township, N.J., was looking for a change that would get him from behind a computer screen and back home.
So he acquired the Lehigh Valley rights to a Bottle & Bottega (ART UNCORKED) franchise.
“It’s a paint-and-sip painting party business,” he said of the BYOB studio.
When it opens near Sixth and Northampton streets in Easton, it will be the only Bottle & Bottega in Pennsylvania, one of only two in the Northeast and 24 total in the U.S. The other is in Berkeley Heights Township, N.J., Kennedy said.
The franchise concept meshes art and wine and bills itself as a studio that’s “one part artistic adventure and one part cocktail party.”
The business offers “step-by-step instruction” by an artist who leads the room, Kennedy said. People sign up online and pay $35 to come to public events, bring their own wine and snacks, but use provided painting supplies, he said.
In two hours or so, they’ve painted a picture they can take home, Kennedy said.
Private or special events could cost a bit more per person, while children’s events could be a little less, he said.
Art and wine studio chain eyes Lehigh Valley
Part of the Chicago-based business’ concept is pop-up events, where the art comes to the people, he said. A recent one was held at the Easton Public Market, he said.
Finding a good fit
The business model fits best in a “Downtown walkable area,” he said.
“Lots of cool restaurants. Lots of cool shops,” he said.
Where to put this one also came down to vibe.
“Easton just seemed to have that hipper appeal,” Kennedy said. “There are a lot of great forward-thinking restaurants. The public market — that’s a huge thing that I love.”
So 527 Northampton St., a former laundromat, turned out to be the place. It needed to be wide enough for two events to be held at once, Kennedy said, and will occupy the first floor of the building owned by Schy-Rhys Redevelopment Inc.
Work is underway now to prepare the building for Bottle & Bottega Lehigh Valley.
Once it officially opens in late April — there could be soft opening ahead of time — it will host public events, private parties and corporate team-building gatherings mostly in the evening during the week, Kennedy said. It also will be open morning through evening on the weekends.
“They’ll have a painting they can take with them” at the end of the sitting, he said.
For the corporate events, a number of people can work on the same large canvas or a mural can be broken up into panels, Kennedy said. When the painting is done, it will be hung so participants can take in what they’ve accomplished, he added.
Bottle & Bottega Lehigh Valley will use local artists to do the instruction and their finished work will go up on the walls to be sold, he said. There also will be a small retail business involving company-branded items and perhaps some local art on consignment, he said.
‘Bit of a lifestyle change’
The Whitehall High School graduate — his parents still live in the home where he was raised — is still “getting his feet wet” in the Easton area. The franchise has been doing pop-up events for the past year and he and his family moved back last summer, Kennedy said.
“We wanted to get a feel for market and spread out and get our name out there,” he said of the early pop-up efforts.
Kennedy left behind a career in New York working for Entertainment Weekly, Spin, Runner’s World, Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated.
“I loved working in the city, living in city,” he said. “Now I’m married. I have two kids.”
The Kennedys are enjoying the suburban open spaces of South Whitehall Township, he said.
“I’m coming back to my roots,” he said. “… I’m trying something new, something different. I’m getting my hands dirty again. It’s a little bit of a lifestyle change.”
There are short-term and long-term goals for the business, he said, with a local’s understanding that people won’t drive from one end of the Lehigh Valley to the other.
“It’s too far,” he said with a laugh.
“The short-term goal is to get this studio going,” he said. “To help in the revitalization of Easton.”
But that doesn’t mean the business will be limited to the eastern edge of the Valley.
“The cool thing we have is that mobile arm to the business,” he said. “We can take our events on the road. We will make our presence felt at different events, expos. We will definitely have our home base in Easton.”
The space on Northampton Street will be “very colorful,” Kennedy said — and apparently well-received.
Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said he was pleased by Kennedy’s decision to do business in the neighborhood, right next to Central Fire Station and just east of the start of the West Ward.
“I believe that this business, if operated appropriately, will be a good addition to the city and especially that area,” Panto said in an email. “We are seeing more and more of the success of the Downtown moving westward as we had hoped.
“Several of the businesses that moved west from the Downtown have been very successful, and if operated correctly, this can also be successful.”
For more information on the company or to book an event, call 610-410-0020, email lehighvalley@bottle-bottega.com or visit bottleandbottega.com/lehighvalley.
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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