Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Tischer.
Hi Ryan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I first became interested in photography during high school and continued with a photography minor at UW-Superior. During that time, I discovered that my favorite type of photography was based in nature. While in college, I tried exhibiting at a number of art and craft shows and found that people would purchase my photographic artwork. Upon graduating college, I decided that then was a good time to try and make a living doing what I loved. It wasn’t easy, as selling luxury items to the middle class in 2008 during the financial crisis was challenging. I worked extremely hard, doing 45 shows in 2008 and continued making a living at shows across the upper Midwest for the next decade. In 2017, I decided to take a leap and opened a brick and mortar gallery in downtown Duluth, while still exhibiting at art shows and festivals. After 3 years, my lease was up downtown and I decided to take another leap by moving the gallery to Canal Park where tourist foot traffic was much higher. The rent was a lot more, but so were the sales, which allowed me to hire a gallery manager along with framers and more salespeople. The gallery continued to be successful over the next several years and in 2024 I renewed my lease.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been challenges along the way. Doing art festivals it an immense amount of work and at times has left me burnt out and feeling overwhelmed. The economy and weather at outdoor shows, among other challenges, can be major stressors. Opening a gallery allowed me to cut back significantly on shows and concentrate more on making new images. Of course, running a gallery has its own set of challenges, including finding good employees and dealing with fluctuating sales throughout the year, among other things.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a professional landscape photographer and have made a living selling my artwork since 2008. I’m most proud of having built a business that not only supports myself, but 4 employees. For me, a big part of my success is having created a family-like workplace where we all work together towards a common goal and have fun while we do it. Surrounding yourself with good people is important to me. What sets my work apart from other photographers is the emotion within my images and the attention to the technical aspects of my craft. My images aren’t just pretty pictures, they’re photographs that make the viewer feel something and appreciate the incredible beauty of the natural world.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
As it pertains to my business, I’ve taken risks, but only after giving those risks a great deal of thought and planning. I never tried to force anything to happen and instead prepared myself for when opportunities arose and the timing was right. For example, moving my gallery to Canal Park was a big risk because my rent nearly tripled, along with a large increase in payroll. The monthly fixed costs are still a bit scary to me, but it was a necessary change to grow my business and it’s paid off. Moving the gallery in the middle of a pandemic and the economic turmoil that came with that was also a big risk, as none of us knew what was going to happen in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TischerGallery.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/tischergallery
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/tischergallery
