Art gallery owner finds meaning in new career after leaving marketing field

For Andrea Miller, losing her job was the best thing to happen to her. 

At 55, she was ready for a change. 

"Probably the job loss was serendipitous," Miller said of her pandemic layoff from the marketing field.

"It didn't seem [so] at the time, but now looking back on it, I think that really pushed me to go and do something I really wanted to do."

One day she walked into the former Botanicals Gift Shop in downtown Fredericton and asked the owner if he would ever consider selling the gallery space.

She had no formal background in art, but had grown up with a strong appreciation for local craft and artists.

A deal was soon struck. Miller was the proud new owner of what would soon become The Artisan District. 

"It's much easier to do your job when you love what you do," Miller said.

She agonized over every detail as she began to set up the store, but it started to come together.

"Each little bit, every time I took a little step, it felt like I was being pulled instead of pushed," Miller said.

She intentionally retained all the artists who previously sold their work in the last shop, and added on more to curate a Maritime-only art gallery.

Miller includes an artist bio and description of their work next to each display area. She occasionally invites the artists into the shop to make art for a few hours for customers to watch.

"Your store is your artists," she said. "Without them, there's just empty walls and shelves here."

Before she knew it, opening day was upon her.