Glencoe native opens art gallery/shop in Post building
By Lori Copler The McLeod County Chronicle, June 24, 2009

Samantha (Lemke) Bohnert majored in art at Bemidji State University, but it was a junior-year intro-to-business class that inspired Samplicity Art Hovel, one of Glencoe's newest businesses.
"We had to write a business plan, and I had this idea for a business with two art galleries, a shop and space for artists to work," said Bohnert.
Bohnert put a lot of work into the business plan, hoping that some day down the road it would become a reality.
Just out of college and just married, Bohnert expected that the reality would happen later rather than sooner.
"Then it came up this spring that this room (located in the Kevin Post insurance building on Hennepin Avenue) was available," said Bohnert. "I thought it was a great opportunity to have my own little studio."
Samplicity Art Hovel "happened a lot sooner and a lot smaller" than Bohnert's original business-class plan, but she hopes that it will eventually grow into a full-time business, although that may not happen in Glencoe, she said. Her husband, Aron, is looking for a job and she will move to wherever his employment takes them.
The "Samplicity" in the business name came from her early college days, Bohnert said. When she was a freshman at Bethel University in St. Paul, "I had a floor mate who used to write on my dorm door; she would incorporate my name into other words."
One of those newly coined words was "Samplicity," which appealed to Bohnert.
The definition of the word "hovel" is displayed in the window of the new business, which faces 12th Street: "a small humble dwelling or shelter."
The small room in the Post building, Bohnert said, "just seems homey to me."
Currently, the little studio displays Bohnert's art (some may remember the murals the Glencoe native did in the Panther Field House), and includes a wide variety of artwork.
"I haven't met a media yet that I didn't like," said Bohnert. "I like anything and everything."
Although her preferences are the "fine arts," such as oil paintings, Bohnert also does more craft-like items like custom-designed T-shirts and scarves. Another specialty is custom designs on walls in homes, particularly nursery murals. A sample of her home wall art is painted on the north wall of the gallery.
She also plans on working in the gallery and will set up an easel in the window.
"I would like to have a painting going so people can walk by the window and see how it is going," said Bohnert.
While she is trying to launch the new business, Bohnert will continue a summer job at Fullerton. She hopes to be at the gallery most weekday evenings, Thursday afternoons, and part of the time on weekends. She said a sign in the shop window will let patrons know when she will be available. Bohnert also is working on launching a Web site, www.samplicityarthovel.com, which is still under construction.
photo caption: Samantha (Lemke) Bohnert recently opened Samplicity Art Hovel in the Kevin Post building at the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and 12th Street in Glencoe. The one-room art gallery features Bohnert's artwork and provides her space to work on projects.