LINCOLN SQUARE — On a dreary stretch of Lincoln Avenue riddled with vacant storefronts, there's a singularly peculiar sight: a bright yellow building with a hot pink door, ornaments hanging in place of an awning and no sign.
Surrounded by buildings sporting typical Chicago gray, the little yellow house at 5053 N. Lincoln Ave. is impossible to ignore. But it is not just its color, inspired by the old Green Acres TV show, that makes it unique: Bow-Haus is a hybrid doggie day care/public art gallery/sculpture studio.
Though the business is not yet fully established, Bow-Haus’ proprietor, 40-year-old Brecken Sahs, hopes that one day it will be an integral part of the Lincoln Square community.
The property has already been an integral part of the community — though in a very different way.
“This was called C & S Pub,” said Sahs. “But its nickname was 'Crack and Smack' Pub.”
Sahs’ parents bought the place in 2012, she said, after the aging owners of the old dive bar had finally decided to sell, and turned it over to Sahs to renovate. Since then, she has been single-handedly rehabbing the property, which also includes a small condo, yard, and a garage she has retrofit into a sculpture studio.
“I’ve been rehabbing everything. I’m taking care of several dogs, talking with different artists. … It’s a lot to do,” she said.
The dog daycare and art combo might seem strange to some, but Sahs said it was a natural move for her.
“I have a whole lifetime of working with dogs and horses,” said Sahs, who has also been a professional horse trainer. “And there’s a real demand in the city for good dog trainers.”
She also has a passion for sculpture and art, and the Bow-Haus is an attempt at merging that personal passion with her professional skills.
She hopes that the gallery will help support emerging Chicago-area artists, such as 26-year-old painter Becky Hillgamyer and Tanzanian performance artist Emanuel Kalimili.
“I love outsider art, emerging artists,” Sahs said.
Hillgamyer credits Sahs and Bow-Haus with connecting her to a greater range of patrons.
“Networking is everything in the art world,” said Hillgamyer. “Brecken will sometimes call me up in the middle of the night and say, ‘hey, so and so wants a painting! Can you do it?’ Or she’ll have gallery parties and introduce me to other people in the art scene.”
Sahs does not take a commission from her supported artists’ sales. Instead, she asks that the artists donate 20 percent of all the proceeds from the art they sell at the Bow-Haus to a charity of their choice.
Sahs said her dog care work comes through word-of-mouth referrals.
“I work with these dogs with silly little problems for months and months, and then I take them to the park. People see them and say, ‘Oh, they’re so behaved.’ We talk, and next thing I know, I’m looking after their dogs,” she said.
Sahs plans to hold some soft openings in early February of 2015, and hopes that within five years Bow-Haus will be self-reliant, wholly funded by her dog business, and fully open to the public.
“I want to give [the artists] a space where they can make bigger, better things…” she said. “I want anyone who wants to use the studio to just be able to come in and do that.”
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