ZaPow! chosen as Small Business of the Month

The Chamber is pleased to recognize ZaPow! as Small Business of the Month.

ZaPow!, the Southeast’s only gallery focusing on illustration and pop culture art, is operated by Lauren and Matthew Johnson. Inspired by a personal passion for illustration, the wife and husband team opened ZaPow! in Oct. 2011 after completing small business training with Mountain Bizworks. Businesses like ZaPow! are key to Asheville’s thriving arts community.

Located in downtown, ZaPow! is a collection of more than 80 local and national artists, a membership-based community committed to holding each other to high standards and advancing each other’s creative careers.

Chamber Board Chair Linda Brandt, ZaPow! owner Lauren Johnson
and Carol Rovello, Vice Chair for Small Business and Entrepreneurship

“ZaPow would not have been possible without our connections and support within the Asheville community,” said Lauren Johnson. “We have been open for less than a year and we have been fortunate enough to connect/partner/support/been supported by the following members of our Asheville community: Mountain Bizz Works, Spellbound Children's Bookshop, The Hop Ice cream, LaZoom Tours, The Costume Shoppe, Pass Times comics, Satelite Gallery, The Asheville Downtown Gallery Association, The Chamber, The Downtown Association, The Small Business Center at AB Tech, Arts 2 People, The Asheville Arts Council and many more.”

“We have been absolutely welcomed into the Asheville business community. At every turn our fellow businesses have been eager to partner and cross promote. This environment of mutual advancement rather than competition is what makes Asheville a hot bed of truly unique small businesses.”

In addition to the storefront gallery, ZaPow! offers a variety of services that encourage writer and artist development including portfolio review services, artist promotion, in-gallery sales, industry news updates, publisher submissions and career encouragement/recommendations.

ZaPow!, with its playful and quirky approach to art, recently hosted the Bele Chere poster contest and Interglactic Hug A Monster Day with more advancements on the horizon.

“We are now in the process of growing a nonprofit division that will provide even more career education services for illustrators at all points of their career,” Johnson said.

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