Jacob Daniels with wife Milena, center, cuts the ceremonial ribbon with Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce CEO Charles Hardin, left, and Mayor Charlie Sellers holding the ends on July 7.
Standing in front of one of his paintings on display at the Common Good Company store on Main Street in Blowing Rock, artist and store owner Jacob Daniels holds the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce proclamation celebrating the store opening on July 7.
Jacob Daniels with wife Milena, center, cuts the ceremonial ribbon with Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce CEO Charles Hardin, left, and Mayor Charlie Sellers holding the ends on July 7.
BLOWING ROCK — Meeting in art classes at Appalachian State University turned out to be just the beginning of Jacob Daniels’ and Melina LaVecchia’s life together. Now married, the couple are among the High Country’s newest entrepreneurs as owners of the Common Good Company, with locations at 685 West King Street in Boone and now 1087-2 Main Street in Blowing Rock.
“We feel very blessed at what we do,” said Jacob Daniels at the Blowing Rock store’s grand opening and ribbon cutting on July 7. “We are able to feed our passion as a job, which is great. And to be right here on Main Street in Blowing Rock is special.”
The Common Good Company is an artisan gallery featuring the work of not only the Daniels’ but other artists from the region as well.
Daniels is a native of High Point while his wife arrived at App State from Charlotte. After graduation, the couple started their careers in fine art in 2013, traveling to art & craft shows across the Southeast, including Blowing Rock’s Art in the Park, Spoleto Charleston, Porter Flea Nashville & Watauga County Farmer’s Market, among others. The gallery is uniquely curated with local fine art, giclee prints, handmade decor and globally sourced home decor.
Standing in front of one of his paintings on display at the Common Good Company store on Main Street in Blowing Rock, artist and store owner Jacob Daniels holds the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce proclamation celebrating the store opening on July 7.
Photo by David Rogers
“At any given time, we have six to eight local artists that we display in our galleries,” said Daniels. “We own our building in Boone and in the future we will have workshops and studio space upstairs.”
For his own art, Daniels explained that he primarily does oil painting and is experimenting with gold leaf.
Jacob and Melina Daniels talk to the July 7 ribbon cutting crowd about the opening of their Main Street store in Blowing Rock.
Photo by David Rogers
“I started off working from old historical photographs obtained from the Library of Congress,” said Daniels. “I also do a variety of animals and people. The photos in the Library of Congress are in the public domain, so no special permits are required, but so many of the scenes are unique.”
Daniels said he got started at a young age and he got passionate about it when he realized that his paintings “... would speak to people.”
“People would have an emotional response to my work,” Daniels said. “So I started taking it really seriously in high school.”
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