New gallery owners take over Synchronicity

By Ross Boissoneau

Sun contributor

Jeff and Patty Brandt planned to retire to Glen Arbor. Jeff beat his wife to the punch, selling his business a couple years ago. He became a stay-at-home dad at their home in Connecticut, while Patty commuted to New York City.

Then they found out Synchronicity was for sale. Goodbye retirement, hello art gallery. “I retired until I bought Synchronicity,” Jeff says with a laugh.

The family had purchased a home on Big Glen but weren’t ready to commit to anything until they moved here. Then a friend told the Brandts that one of their favorite galleries was quietly for sale. “We knew we wanted than just a house. When the business came up, it was meant to be,” says Jeff.

He brings an eclectic background to his newest endeavor. He spent 17 years in corporate America working for Boeing, then ten years with a tech startup. He then bought an Ace Hardware store which he ran for 12 years until he retired. So, he spent time being a dad with their kids who were still at home, a graduating senior, a junior and seventh-grader.

When the opportunity arose, they had a family meeting, including their two adult daughters. While Jeff had sold his hardware store, Patty is still practicing law with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City. Their oldest daughter, Katie, who worked for a wine and spirits distributor in Seattle and California, joined Jeff and Patty in purchasing the gallery.

The plan was for previous owner Dave Thomasma run the gallery for three years, until the Brandts were ready to move here permanently and take over. When Thomasma said health concerns were forcing him to retire after last summer, in stepped Katie.

“When we found out, my daughter Katie in Seattle said if you guys buy it, I’ll move here and run it. We weren’t expecting that at all,” says Jeff. “I’m glad our daughter was flexible enough to move.”

Katie says when the timetable was moved up, she packed up her life out west and came here. “I decided to make it happen. I would physically be there,” she says.

Jeff says while he and Patty will continue to live in Connecticut for the foreseeable future, he intends to spend a couple weeks locally each month. Gallery manager Cynthia Goodrick will continue at Synchronicity as well.

As will the gallery’s slate of artists. Katie says they continue to represent the artists who had previously shown their works and added some more. The gallery now represents some 85 Michigan artists and has more than 1,000 artworks. “We took every artist in prior seasons and sprinkled in a few new ones,” she says.

They’ve made several changes to the gallery, opening things up and installing new flooring in the front and a new table for sales. “The artists have said, ‘Wow, we like the look and feel.’ We have an artist who does live edge (build the table) in place of the counter,” says Jeff.

“It was time to refresh,” Katie adds. “We want to keep it open and inviting.”

They are also partnering with Black Star Farms on events. The first took place May 17 when two of the gallery’s artists were on site at the Black Star Farms Suttons Bay location for a plein air event, with other paintings for sale on site.

Synchronicity will maintain its 10-5 daily hours. Jeff and Katie say they intend to offer more events, during and after-hours and both at the gallery and offsite. “We want to continue to … build relationships with the artists and the community,” explains Katie.

Jeff says events may include craft beer tastings, wine and cheese tasting, and even music. “On June 12, we have the Glen Arbor Arts Association musicians in residence Kodak Quartet coming to play for an hour,” he says. They intend to incorporate music in other ways, which may include after-hours events or artist showcases during the day.

They will also bring in their artists to meet with the public. “It’s up to our artists how they want to spread their art,” says Katie. They have enlisted a photographer who will offer tips on how to get the best images without getting too technical. Other artists may do live plein air, or simply visit the gallery and mingle with customers. It’s all on the (live-edge) table.