Photo: Auguste Bernick/The Olaf Messenger
Minutes after I sat down for a typical Tuesday shift at The Sketchy Artist, I immediately took notice of one of the first customer interactions of the day. “I love this store,” the customer said. “I love you back,” April Ripka ’99 said to the customer who purchased various art supplies.
Ripka graduated from St. Olaf with a Studio Arts degree and stepped into the world of website and graphic design. She turned towards Art Direction in graduate school, which allowed Ripka to develop strong leadership skills including confidence and idea collaboration. These traits allowed for Ripka to develop her brand for the continuation of a Northfield art supply store.
Ripka previously worked for The Art Store, the former art shop that served Northfield for around three decades. She eyed the supply catalog during her six months working there, which prepared her for the unexpected – an email from the owner of The Art Store offering Ripka to own the supply shop.
To own The Art Store, Ripka started from scratch to create her own label. The name underwent a few rough drafts. Ripka was attached to the word “sketch” so she settled on “The Sketchy Artist,” which remains the present name. She hand-drew the logo, which adds to the personal touches throughout the store. All signs in the store are hand-written to complement each hand-picked item inside the store.
This business grew from the ground up in Northfield, through a recession and a pandemic;. A silver lining was found in those difficult times. Creativity flourished in Ripka as she continued to fight for her business. “I had to get out to fall in love with the store again,” Ripka said. Since the pandemic, Ripka has been the sole employee behind the counter each day.
The creativity and uniqueness that fills Ripka’s store gives to the community that steps foot into her shop. “[The store] only has things that are my voice,” Ripka said.
The most important thing to Ripka is for customers to leave the store feeling inspired. Whether art supplies are purchased or not, she doesn’t want anyone to come in and feel like they don’t fit or will be critiqued for their style or skill. People who buy her supplies will come back to show their creations. “It’s so exciting watching someone take off,” Ripka said.
Ripka’s store is supplied through a combination of highly regarded and well-known products and small businesses, with a majority of these being women-owned businesses and artists. As she pointed to different cards along the wall, she could name the artist and their individual business stories based on the art on the card.
Instead of scrolling through Amazon to find art supplies, consider heading downtown to The Sketchy Artist. Take a step into what Ripka calls her “second home” and support a local Ole alum’s business. In addition to knowing Ripka as an artist or business owner, know her as an individual who is as passionate about discovering why the slogan of having “creative goods and curious finds” is the best way to describe what is within these downtown walls.
