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Vintage jeweler Shawna Leslie sets up her display at Art N Soul on 101. Leslie is one of around 50 artists whose work is being sold at the boutique store in Encinitas. Photo by Laura Place
Vintage jeweler Shawna Leslie sets up her display at Art N Soul on 101. Leslie is one of around 50 artists whose work is being sold at the boutique store in Encinitas. Photo by Laura Place
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Art N Soul on 101 closing after 16-year run

ENCINITAS — For nearly 16 years, longtime nonprofit art gallery and retailer Art N Soul on 101 has been a beloved space where local artists can sell their wares, and community members can find an eclectic array of handmade gifts, art and decor. 

This month, however, the gallery will close its doors in Encinitas as founder Cindy Blumkin and her team look ahead to new endeavors, making it one of the latest locally-owned businesses to depart Coast Highway.

Art N Soul has been a fixture on the 101 since 2007, operating out of 633 South Coast Highway in what is now The UnOptical for its first 13 years before moving just across the street to its current location three years ago.

Beloved Encinitas boutique art gallery and store Art N Soul on 101 is closing after 16 years of operation on South Coast Highway 101. Photo by Laura Place
Beloved Encinitas boutique art gallery and store Art N Soul on 101 is closing after 16 years of operation on South Coast Highway 101. Photo by Laura Place

Blumkin said while she has loved operating the business and getting to know so many artists and community members, she and her team are ready to move on to new things. She said she is open to operating another art space in the future. 

“Collectively, we all had arrived at a place where we were moving on to new explorations. This is such a sad decision, but all of us want to continue along some path in the art world,” she said. 

The operation has always been a woman-led show with the combined skills of Blumkin, a former realtor and social worker, co-founder and landscape designer Paige Perkins, and Kim Lange, Blumkin’s business partner for the past 10 years who has managed Art N Soul’s finances.

Paintings and photography art are displayed at Art N Soul on 101, which is closing this month after 16 years along South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Photo by Laura Place
Paintings and photography art are displayed at Art N Soul on 101, which is closing this month after 16 years along South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Photo by Laura Place

The goal for the operation has always been to give local artists a platform to reach more customers while also giving back to the community, Blumkin said. When she and Perkins met while working on fundraisers, they shared a passion for social art and entrepreneurship and decided to pursue Blumkin’s idea for a grassroots gallery. 

In this unique model, artists selling products at Art N Soul received 60% of the share while the remaining 40% went to the store, a portion of which would then be donated to selected charities. Over the years, Art N Soul has donated around $100,000 to various San Diego County causes. 

As overhead costs have grown, the business has pivoted in recent years to focusing primarily on supporting local artists, with the share between the store and artists being split 50-50, Blumkin said. 

Handmade jewelry is one of many local artisan products sold at Art N Soul on 101, which is closing this month after 16 years along South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Photo by Laura Place
Handmade jewelry is one of many local artisan products sold at Art N Soul on 101, closing this month after 16 years along South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Photo by Laura Place

“I wanted the antithesis of any kind of white-wall high-end gallery — my idea was to have it be very accessible, to have everybody be able to afford original art,” she said. 

Perkins, who has handled all of Art N Soul’s installations, can still remember when she and Blumkin moved into their first location in 2007 and how they spent 14 hours hanging all the art by themselves. 

Since then, Art N Soul has partnered with numerous artists and sold their works to customers worldwide.

“We walked into this place full of dust and old cabinets and counters, Cindy brought two pieces of art in, and it was sitting among the dust bunnies, and I was like, ‘here we go,’” Perkins said, laughing. “I think Art N Soul has contributed a lot to the community and the 101, and it’s going to be sad when it’s no longer an option. It is bittersweet.” 

Art N Soul features products from over 50 artists at a time in their store, ranging from jewelry and paintings to handmade home decors like clocks made out of old records and CDs. Blumkin said she first started connecting with interested artists via Craigslist and that over the years, “the word was out” to a vast network of artists. 

Art N Soul on 101 co-founder Cindy Blumkin, who has offered local jewelry, paintings, photography and clothing at her store on Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, is closing up shop after 16 years. Photo via Facebook/Art N Soul on 101
Art N Soul on 101 founder Cindy Blumkin, who has offered local jewelry, paintings, photography and clothing at her store on Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, is closing up shop after 16 years. Photo via Facebook/Art N Soul on 101

Shawna Leslie, owner of the vintage jewelry company Leslie Designs, is one artist who has been selling her wares with Art N Soul for years. Leslie said that while she has been an established business for years, Art N Soul has helped her reach people locally with her rings, necklaces and bracelets made from recycled vintage pieces. 

“It’s going to be sad when this closes. It’s easy, they give back, and it’s all local artists. They’ve definitely helped me grow,” she said. 

Despite this chapter ending, the team has found ways to infuse joy into the last month of operation. Earlier in March, Art N Soul participated in its final Encinitas Art Night, where community members view art at local businesses. In addition, a farewell celebration is planned at the gallery from 5 to 8 p.m. on March 25. 

“We’re going to have a farewell party celebrating the joy and the sense of art and community that we’ve had here,” Blumkin said.

The store’s official last day will be March 29. Art N Soul on 101 is open from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

1 comment

JB March 17, 2023 at 3:46 pm

Let’s face it, Encinitas is no longer loyal to or affordable for our iconic small businesses that many old and new residents (and artists) love and enjoy frequenting. What this article doesn’t explore, is the frustration of this business and others with issues related to our now normalized homeless population. On a visit here last year, I heard the stories of employees arriving to work numerous times to the specter of human feces at their back door entrance.

Sadly, the city council’s response to homelessness is not to help those who are without roofs, on drugs or mentally ill with sustainable solutions. Instead, they turn a blind eye, build homeless parking lots and suggest we expand our homeless solutions to potentially include a homeless shelter. These solutions offer no accountability or relief for small businesses dealing with feces, pee, needles and bad behavior right at their doorsteps. The city seems to be more interested in government grant handouts than compassionate solutions for all.

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