Put a professionally trained artist who has a business flair, together with a creative genius who comes from a strong family business foundation-and what do you get? A cutting-edge and exciting new African American husband and wife-owned business in the heart of Jenkintown, PA.
The business is named The Art of MBB, Multi-Media Creative Space, and Art Gallery. It’s located at 315 York Road in Jenkintown, PA. It’s a combination art gallery, art studio, video and audio production studio, business office, and meeting space for art lovers of all kinds. In short, it’s a multi-media, creative space, and art gallery.
According to the owners, Brian and LaToya Bowens, their business will allow them to exercise all the different areas of creativity that they had already been doing in increments, hustling out of a small room or going wherever they needed to go. Now they can do their work in a large, wonderful space and invite some other artists to join them.
Brian Bowens shared a part of the story of how their business was born. “I had been doing free-lance artwork for a while. Then around 2012, contracts started coming in, which allowed me to be a free-lance artist full time. I started getting a following online on Instagram and YouTube, just creating the things I was passionate about, in regards to sports, sneakers, music, things like that. Through that, it enabled me to work with brands that aligned with my personal passions, whether it be ESPN, Footlocker, Reebok, and that’s just to name a few. I’ve been documenting my journey and creating new artwork. I give a lot of credit to social media for people reaching out to me and hiring me for custom work. People purchase prints from me and apparel and sneakers and all that good stuff.”
“I’m trained in illustration, graphic design, fine art, photography, videography, video and film editing, all that good stuff. Just about anything you can think of that has to do with art we can make it happen with our business,” Brian Bowens stated. “I’m continually evolving and growing my talents. My wife is doing the same thing too. We want to constantly get better and better. What we’re able to do with this spot is spread out. In one area, I do custom cleats for Brandon Graham of the Philadelphia Eagles. I can do custom sneakers. I have a space where I can do and display original paintings and have collectors come in and check it out and make an investment. We have a space where we can do digital artwork. I can create a portrait of your family, or draw something else, in a specific space at our new business location in Jenkintown.”
Business partner and wife, LaToya Bowens added, “I have a background in marketing. My love for people, coaching, and facilitating learning, mesh perfectly with my husband’s amazing artistic ability to create a custom experience for our clients. In this faith-filled journey, we hope to inspire our four children and the clients we serve to boldly share their gifts with the world. Overall, we capture emotions and help the world relive moments through art. We do it globally, locally, and personally. We plan on interviewing other up-and-coming power couples in the area as we move forward, so they’ll know about the availability of our multi-media center and the services we have to offer. This is a very exciting time for my husband and I as we see our vision become a reality. I feel like I come into this business, like my husband–with a solid foundation and understanding about being an entrepreneur. My grandfather, Bill Richardson, and my grandmother Barbara owned several very successful businesses in Philadelphia in past years, from a grocery store to a tavern, to a florist business. They did well with all their businesses, and they shared a lot of their business acumen with us. We recognize that we stand on their shoulders today.”
One of the spaces inside The Art of MBB, Multi-Media Creative Space and Art Gallery is dedicated to podcasting. The owners plan to launch a podcast that will feature interviews with other couples who have gems to share.
The website for this exciting new business is www.theartofmbb.com. The phone number is 215-678-2470. You can also reach them at: hello@artofmbb.com or at @bbsketch on Instagram.
An official grand opening will take place in September of this year. People are urged to go to the website for more details and sign up for the Art of MBB Newsletter. If you’d like to see some of Brian Bowens’ artwork, log onto his Instagram page @BBSketch.
