Kate McGrady opened Koolkat Designs in Mt. Lebanon in 2006 with 25 artists. Etsy, maker markets, and local artists at The Three Rivers Arts Festival weren’t around yet. Over it’s 9 years at this location, the business became known for it’s interesting collection of local art. Over this time, the artist community in Pittsburgh grew in leaps and bounds. By 2014. artists were clamoring for representation and there just wasn’t enough room. That’s when Kate met the Satterfield brothers, owners of Rolliers, and everything changed.

What was once the headquarters for Rolliers Hardware sat vacant on McFarland Road for many years. The space was huge and begging for new energy. When McGrady met Bob, Chuck and Doug Satterfield, she described her dreams for more art space in the South Hills. Together they partnered and with only a small group of eager artisans, transformed the space into an arts and cultural center in 2015. It housed a very large gallery shop, a cafe, exhibit gallery and teaching classrooms. Along with the new space came a new name, The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh. Tied to the metal roots of Pittsburgh and the idea of collaborating with local artists, the new business was extremely popular. Exhibits featured local organizations including South Hills Jewish Federation, Women of Vision, the Sculptors Society of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Pastel Society, Pittsburgh Fiber Arts Guild, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, many individual and group shows as well as host of the 2018 Pittsburgh Orchid Society Annual Show. It was fun while it lasted but soon the space became too much for the small organization to manage. In addition, the Satterfields decided to retire. In 2018, the partners decided to donate The Artsmiths business to a new nonprofit, Artsmiths of Pittsburgh Arts and Cultural Center. This led to the decision to move to a more diverse and smaller location in Carnegie.

We had watched Carnegie go through many changes over the years. With it’s eclectic mix of religious organizations, old and new businesses and an always charming Main Street, Carnegie was rebounding. When the new board of directors of Artsmiths, now a 501c(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization, toured the empty space at 329 E. Main St. they fell in love. Tin ceilings, a right sized space near other arts businesses, retail, restaurants and bars as well as a wonderfully diverse community made the decision to relocate easy. Who knew that 2020 would be such a challenge! We lost all of our staff to other jobs and ran the business without pay for over a year. However, we also partnered with Handmade Arcade to launch Art4AllPGH and our outreach programming. With the incredible support of The Hillman Foundation in 2021, we survived and rebuilt. Our classes relaunched in fall 2021 and summer camps are returning now in 2022. We are active in the leadership of the local business owner’s association, friends with loads of local business owners, providing outreach to our community, and eager to do our part to further strengthen our new home.