A Friend of the Arts Remembering, Honoring Madis Sulg
Madis Sulg spent much of his career working in the corporate world and found a second act in the craft industry.
“He loved the industry and loved knowing how people turned their talent into a successful business,” Diane Sulg said of her husband, who passed away on Jan. 31.
Married on Dec. 30, 1967, the couple lived on the East Coast and then in Iowa for 23 years. It was there Diane, who writes The Creative Wholesaler and HeARTbeat for Sunshine Artist, began working in the arts — running art festivals and eventually becoming executive director of Quad City Arts.
When Madis retired in 2001, they moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. With a modest inheritance from Diane’s father, they opened Maddi’s Gallery. “The MAD was for Madis, and the DI was for Diane. No one got it — they called us both ‘Maddi’ all the time,” she said.
Before opening the gallery, Diane and Madis knew they wanted to sell fine craft. But the couple also knew they wanted to explore Southern folk art, which she said they came to love.
“Months before our store opened, we heard about a Kentucky wood carver named Minne Adkins, and we invited ourselves to an event she had in her yard called A Day in the Country,” Diane said. “I bought so much, and she became one of our most important artists. Naturally, we also sold sophisticated fine craft. I called our mix raw and cooked.”
Madis became the gallery’s business manager and Diane’s buying partner. “However, at the shows, I worked, and he chatted — with everybody!” Diane said.
She said Madis was an information junkie. “He began to create files on all the artists and then on all the galleries. He followed all the show officials, even attending their stockholder meetings online,” Diane said. “This was all separate from our business and had nothing to do with CRAFT. The gift shop and gift show industries and their statistics became his hobby.”
Madis then shared that information with anyone who asked or needed it, making his contributions to individuals, shops, artists, and shows enormous, she said. “Our industry literally became his all-important second act,” she said. “He was a walking encyclopedia for the craft industry, and he was friends with people from every segment of that industry.”
