by Job O. Brother
Located in the middle of the line between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe is one of the busiest, bustling, cutting-edge dots-on-the-map you've never heard of. The place is Nevada City, California. As you enter the signs will tell you there's a population of almost 3,000 people, but some days, at least that many tourists pour into the four city blocks that make up Nevada City's small downtown.
Nevada City has a reputation for eccentricity that stems back to its birth as a Gold Rush capital. People come for the colorful behavior of its residents as much as they come for products and Gold Rush history. And located in the middle of the line between small-town business and Nevada City originality is artistic entrepreneur Emilie Autumn.
If you ask Emilie what it is that she does, she panics. Then when you see her body of work, which includes inter-active paintings, furniture, weird toys, her line of clothing OUTSIDER COUTURE (of which she is not only designer but seamstress)--not to mention her suddenly very popular web-site, www.fancydeluxe.com--you begin to understand why she is so hesitant to tackle such a seemingly simple question.
JB: What is it that you do? EA: (freezes) Um... Anything.And that really is the best answer you could get.
"Being an artist in a small community has its challenges," says Emilie, while hot-gluing an artificial eyeball to a lamp-top, "There's not a lot of outlets to show your work, so you end up in the same places over and over." Indeed, although Ms. Autumn's work is being sold locally, 95% of her sales come from the Internet. "Without the Net, I couldn't survive financially off my work in a small town." (Emilie is a new mother of two. Selling her work on the Net allows her to stay at home and raise her children..)
"Being raised here meant I had to be creative because there wasn't a lot for me to do," she says. "I was always playing practical jokes--not on individuals, but on the whole town--and people were always so grateful; grateful to have something interesting to look at." This became Emilie's mission statement: Providing people with something interesting to look at. "Locals have always been supportive of me. After I became a mom and wife, I needed to turn these creative impulses into a means of supporting a family." So, Fancy Deluxe.com--you might say her third child--was born.
"Nevada City is unique because there's a remarkable density of artists here, partly because of its natural beauty, partly it's colorful roots. There's a mass migration happening here. People from the Bay Area are seeking a less hectic life-style. Nevada City is perfect because it is both rural and hip."
People interested in learning more about Nevada City should visit www.americanbusiness.com. Anyone curious about the hilarious and baffling creations of Emilie Autumn can check-out www.fancydeluxe.com
Job O. Brother
