DATE: Sunday, August 10, 1997               TAG: 9708080114

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   40 lines

LOCAL FINE CRAFTS GALLERY NAMED ONE OF NATION'S BEST IN SURVEY

ARTIFAX, a fine crafts gallery with shops in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, was named among the nation's top 10 craft retailers in a recent poll of 15,000 professional craft artists.

The poll was taken by Niche magazine, a national trade publication for craft retailers. Awards were announced earlier this month in Philadelphia at a dinner in conjunction with the Philadelphia Market of American Craft.

``It's a real honor for all of us at Artifax,'' said L.B. Lee, Artifax's assistant buyer. ``It means a lot to be listed with people who have been in the business for 20 years.''

Artifax - owned and managed by Steve and Patricia Swan since it opened in 1991 - was among 600 galleries nominated, Lee said.

The criteria: Treating artists with courtesy and respect, paying them on time, promoting and marketing American crafts, giving back time and energy to the crafts community and mentoring emerging artists.

In its two locations - in Norfolk's Ghent and at Hilltop North Shopping Center in Virginia Beach - Artifax handles the work of about 400 artists who work in wood, glass, ceramics and metal.

``We feel like we really have a broad representation from all of the states,'' Lee said.

``I think the artists have liked the way we have dealt with them from the very beginning. It's our enthusiasm about the work, and wanting to get it out into the mainstream. We're spreading the word that American craft art is available at affordable prices,'' she said.

The gallery carries a large selection of hand-crafted items, including vases, clocks, teapots, goblets, jewelry and boxes. Currently, their top-selling categories are decorative metals, art glass and jewelry.

The Ghent shop is at 1511 Colley Ave.; hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Call 623-8840.

The Beach shop is at 727 Hilltop North; hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, until 7 p.m. Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Call 425-8224.

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