Husband-and-wife team to open “#LOCAL by Cider House” in former Nash Gallery on Cottage Street

EASTHAMPTON—Lennie and Elizabeth Appelquist, the owners of Cider House Media and active members of the Easthampton arts community, recently announced they will open a second location in the former Nash Gallery on Cottage Street.

Elizabeth Appelquist said the new space will be “an art gallery with a twist” as the 1,200-square-foot space at 40 Cottage St. will also house a photo and video studio. The name of their new venture is #LOCAL by Cider House.

The Appelquists have the intention that #LOCAL by Cider House will support Cottage Street, local businesses, local artists, artisans, and craftsmen and women. Their goal is to enrich the Cultural Arts District and to help draw people from surrounding towns to Cottage Street as a destination.

Lennie Appelquist said, “Since the opening of Cider House, we have wanted a studio space to enhance the services provided by Cider House Media. We have also wanted a gallery space on Cottage Street so that we could be part of the artist community that we’ve been supporting ever since we moved into the offices at 28 Northampton St. #LOCAL by Cider house will give us the opportunity to do both.

“We hope to be a place for people to go after lunch or dinner at any of Cottage Street’s great restaurants,” he added. “We want people to come for food, enjoy ice cream at Mount Tom’s, see beautiful art and buy a book all in one day.”

Previously, the Nash Gallery was a Cottage Street fixture for 23 years. Marlies Stoddard took the business over from her mother, Mai, in 2009 and closed the gallery in February.

“We are so very honored to be following in the footsteps of Mai and Marlies Stoddard. They made Nash Gallery into one of the cornerstones of Cottage Street,” Elizabeth Appelquist said. “We hope to carry on their legacy and bring magic to the street just as they did.”

Cider House Media is a 15-person website design company that operates out of a 3,000-square-foot space at 28 Northampton St. That space has been a gallery stop on Art Walk Easthampton since the business opened in September 2015.

As members of the Cottage Street Cultural District Committee, both Appelquists are big advocates for the local art community. One of their missions with their new venture is to benefit local artists and the surrounding businesses on Cottage Street.

The grand opening for #LOCAL by Cider House is set for May 12, the night of the May Art Walk in Easthampton. Art Walks, organized by Easthampton City Arts, are held the second Saturday of every month, except January.

The Appelquists intend for #LOCAL to serve in part as a spot for podcasts, client video space, product shots, and studio rental. It will also provide an event space in which they’ll present musical performances, lectures, art classes and business-related workshops.

“When people walk in, we want them to be transported into a different space,” Elizabeth said. “Whether we do that through music or visually, it will be stimulating. Most of all, it’s to highlight local; we’re all about local. We want to bring our Art Walk experience to Cottage Street, while also bringing a functioning, high-end gallery space with evening and weekend hours.”

Cider House Media has its roots in Topanga, California, where it was originally founded by Lennie Appelquist as FreeMarket Media Group in 2003. When the two met in 2008, Elizabeth jumped right in to grow the company. For family reasons, in 2013, they moved the business to Easthampton, Elizabeth’s hometown.

The company offers a variety of web-related services, including website, logo and graphic design, and support with social media, search engine optimization, website maintenance and email marketing.

Lennie Appelquist serves as company president and creative director. A self-taught designer and web developer, he has 25 years’ experience working with some of the biggest brands in the world. He’s a member of the Director’s Guild of America, and he’s served as assistant director on many popular movie, music video and commercial sets.

As vice president and chief operating officer, Elizabeth Appelquist oversees client and financial management, along with the daily operations of Cider House Media. After attending Colby College in Maine, she later tried her hand at modeling in Boston. She went on to sell real estate in Maine, and then worked as an actress in theater productions, commercials and television shows in Florida. 

In addition to the Appelquists, Cider House Media has 15 employees, with nine telecommuting. On-site staff include Meghan Hoagland, social media manager and photographer; Richard Weis, production manager; Kira Wojtech, account executive; and Julia Rowinski, copywriter and photographer.

The Appelquists began to show local art at their firm at 28 Northampton St. in 2015.

“We first did it as a way to give people a place to get together while sharing beautiful art,” Lennie Appelquist said. “For us, it was a way to be part of the community and meet people. The talent of the local artists has always amazed us, and now we want to do even more.”

For more information about Cider House Media, visit https://ciderhouse.media/.

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