Utilitarian Workshop spends First Friday palling around

John Anderson and Nicole Williams say their Utilitarian Workshop remains in “full steam ahead” mode, even as they add to their business duties with a few other responsibilities: recent homeowners and new parents.

So it has been a busy eight months since the couple opened this storefront and showroom at 1659 Summit. And at least one day a month is fuller still.

“People were always asking us what we’re doing for First Fridays,” Anderson tells The Pitch. “I’d say, ‘We’re not doing anything for First Fridays. We’re open every Friday!’ But we started talking about what we could do every month. Kylie was really instrumental in organizing designer-specific trunk shows.”

That’s Kylie Grater, a longtime friend of Anderson’s and Williams’ who has stepped in as an interim manager for Utilitarian’s West Side space, which Anderson and Williams also use as an office for their growing design firm. What Anderson started as a furniture-building business in 2006 led, after friends introduced him to Williams, to collaborations with Port Fonda, Second Best Coffee, Thou Mayest, Little Freshie and Hammerpress. Anderson also designed and helped build the Barn Light, the Eugene, Oregon, coffee shop and bar that Grater founded with her boyfriend, Dustin Kinsey.

With Grater back in KC to return the favor, the trunk shows have begun. The first featured local vintage collector is Michael Lais of Gent & Scholar. Now Grater herself is laying out work, along with printmaker Jeffrey Isom of Pre Sense Form. Grater, maker of Early Jewelry and co-founder of the Ladies of Lawrence Artwork show, has put together new items especially for this weekend’s event, including horsehair earrings and antler pieces. Isom, who is stocking original art and prints, created the Barn Light’s logo, so, yes, he’s yet another familiar face in this growing network.

“Everyone has a local connection in one way or another,” Anderson says. “It’s basically friend or friend of friend in here. The idea with the trunk shows is to create that interest for vendors. Someone like Katie [Ashmore, of Toro Designs], my cousin, is kind of just getting started with her brand. I’ve always seen this as a platform or venue to definitely develop, so it offers people a physical-form opportunity.”

For those of us who don’t make things, utilitarian or otherwise, it’s just April’s first opportunity to buy some cool stuff. And May’s and June’s, too — Omaha’s the Object Enthusiast and jewelry designer Kira Terrey bring their trunks in May, followed the next month by Level Projects (June 6), Toro Designs (June 21) and LunaSol (of Portland, Oregon, also June 21).