Our Town Revisited: Imaginarium

ONANCOCK, Va. – A lot has changed in the 25 years since WMDT met local author and artist Dana Simson.

Starting in Salisbury

Back in 1999, we highlighted Chesapeake East, which was then located at West Main and Lake Streets in Salisbury.

“In 1999, American craft was huge. At that point, we were selling to 400 galleries nationally. I had 17 employees that I had taught to make my work,” Simson said. “American craft just got decimated by all the stuff coming in from China and abroad.”

Simson says their old location was a huge building to keep afloat.

“We continued for the next 20 years, basically. We closed in 2020 just before the pandemic. A lot of our sister and brother studios actually lost their shirts and went bankrupt. It was a very, very hard time,” Simson said.

Changing Gears

It was then that Simson turned to licensing her work, designing things like rugs and fabrics while publishing children’s books. All the while, Simson also had her focus on diving back into finding inspiration.

“When we closed, I kind of got back into my paintings and stuff, and I’ve always had this interest in climate change,” Simson said. “The basis of everything is sustainability.”

Simson is using her new gallery, the Imaginarium in Onancock, to inspire others to use their imaginations.

“[I want them] to try to figure out how to appreciate where they are, what they have, and how they can make it work,” Simson said.

“A little more soul,”

Today, the Imaginarium inspires amazing connections with ceramics and pulls people together with paintings.

“I think that handmade work, especially non-production handmade work, has a little more soul to it. It has a good energy that lifts people,” Simson said.

Looking ahead for Simson, she plans to stay nestled in her nook on Market Street, and taking stock of what makes every day special.

“It’s an adorable little town. I bicycle to work, and it’s filled with new, wonderful, interesting people,” Simson said. “I just wanted a smaller space where I make everything, and just keep it small.”

WMDT airs Our Town Revisited on Sundays at 6 p.m.