Woman to Watch: Loretta Fritsch

Loretta Fritsch adores fashion and retail.

Coupled with her passion for art, the gallery store manager and buyer at the Memorial Art Gallery is grateful to be surrounded by art every day.

Fritsch has found joy connecting artists with customers through pieces that they mutually love. With every purchase she makes for the store, she strives to help artists from the Rochester community become noticed.

“Loretta is extremely passionate about what she does and is great at encouraging local artists and getting them to the store,” MAG spokeswoman Meg Colombo said.

Fritsch developed a penchant for creating garments at a young age. She learned how to sew during summers spent with her aunt.

“I always loved sewing and the idea of creating a 3D representation of what I want,” Fritsch said.

She moved south to complete her bachelor’s degree in fashion marketing and management from Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, Georgia. After graduating in 2009, Fritsch returned to Rochester and worked in the retail industry at a jewelry store The Icing, and Macy’s located at Eastview Mall in Victor. She worked at Macy’s for four years, managing a sales department.

“It taught me a huge side of the retail aspect,” she said. “It was a great company and I was happy with my time there but there was no creative outlet for me. I was working so much that I didn’t have time to do anything outside of work.”

Fast forward one year and three months and self-proclaimed “turquoise-obsessed” Fritsch said she feels like she’s landed her dream job. She works with a team of four staff members. She corresponds with local artists, works on acquisitions of new pieces and merchandise, plans store events and contributes to the gallery’s social media, among other tasks. The store features the work of over 75 regional artists, according to Fritsch.

In the last year, she has been working to establish the Gallery Store as a destination shop for returning and new patrons. She encourages this by bringing in artwork from Rochester artists of all business levels — from those who are in the beginning stages of building a business plan, to those whose work is already sold in stores.

“We create events for the store where we sell local art that centers on exhibitions that are happening in the gallery,” she said. “We end up retaining the artist’s work, if they’re a big hit with customers.”

Last December, the store coordinated a sales event titled “Wearable Expression,” with collections made by metal work students from the RIT School of American Crafts. In May, they hosted a 30 day pop-up event called “30 under 30,” in which they featured 30 works by millennial artists.

“We’re trying to cultivate young talent,” she said. “For some, that means getting them used to pricing and selling their work professionally.”

She works with her staff to individually tag every piece that is sold, to build an artist’s name recognition with customers.

For Fritsch, the hunt is worth it when she’s able to connect a customer with a piece of art that they love just as much as the artist who created it.

“One thing that brings me a lot of joy is when there’s an artist I’ve found or been able to bring to the store, and I can tell the customer about them and their work personally,” she said. “Every day when I walk in to work, I have to walk through the gallery to get to the store. I’m so grateful that I get to enjoy this every day because it is so different from where I came from.”

Personal: Age 29, single, lives in Penfield.

Recent work projects and achievements: Recently, during the gallery’s "Art for the People: Carl W. Peters and the Rochester WPA Murals Exhibition," the store partnered with several local artists to offer a modern take on public art. Our objective was to bring in pieces that reflected street art. This ranged from a large-scale painting by local artist Judy Gohringer to jewelry made out of concrete and graffiti.

Who inspired or mentored her: My mother is the most accomplished woman I know. She graduated from RIT with a degree in art and was a marketing communications manager for KODAK (it doesn’t get more Rochester than that). Now retired, she is busier than ever volunteering in the community. Because of her, I always knew I would end up in art. She always made sure I knew I could do anything I set my heart on. Because of her influence I have never waited for opportunities to come to me. I always seek them out.

Future goals: Professionally, my goal is to bring The Gallery Store into a new era. We want to be Rochester’s go-to place for local art and gifts. Personally, I would like to meet Mr. Right and have a child. I already have a house and a fur baby.

What she's reading: The first issue of Art House Press. The Gallery store was lucky enough to be one of the places to pick up a copy. Also about to start reading Amy Poehler’s new book Yes Please. I am a huge comedy fan and especially a fan of women in comedy.

Favorite app: Instagram. I love taking pictures even if my feed mostly consists of pictures of my dog and of jewelry. I sometimes add to the MAG’s Instagram feed (instagram.com/magrochester).

Career advice to someone just starting out: Don’t ever stop learning and growing. Everyone you work with and every experience you have can teach you something. You may not use it right away, but you will eventually — I promise.

Leah Shaw is a freelance writer.

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• News

January 17, 2016