LIFE

Artists find a home in Goshen

Ashley Petry
Star correspondent
The Old Bag Factory in Goshen houses two floors of shops, restaurants, galleries and studios. A metal sculptor uses the factory’s former boilerhouse as a studio.

Twenty-six years ago, Mark Goertzen moved to Goshen to work at a pottery studio — temporarily, he assumed. But he and many other artists now call this small city home, creating a vibrant artistic community in the heart of the Midwest.

“There’s been a vision here of a creative class,” Goertzen said. “There was a core Goshen vision of getting interesting shops and making this a fun place to live, and arts are all wrapped up in that.”

Located in northern Indiana, Goshen is often overshadowed by nearby Elkhart and South Bend. Yet this city of 30,000 is one of Indiana’s most surprising communities.

In the downtown historic district, bustling streets are lined with artisan bakeries, art galleries, coffeehouses, restaurants and eclectic shops.

Goshen, a town of 30,000 in northern Indiana, has become a hotbed for the arts and interesting shops.

Up-and-coming bands perform at the Ignition Music Garage. The Goshen Brewing Company serves craft brews and smoked meats. The Art House screens classic and independent films. The Found boutique stocks art and antiques from across the globe. And DIY Coffee and Ale Supply offers a trendy pour-over coffee bar.

“People never expect this from a tiny town in northern Indiana,” said Gina Leichty, a partner at Eyedart Creative Studio, which manages the economic-development initiative Downtown Goshen, Inc. “The low cost of living here and the healthy local arts scene make it really attractive to artists who want to establish some roots.”

Earlier this year, Goshen opened The Hawks, a live-work community for artists and entrepreneurs. Formerly a furniture factory, the $7 million development offers apartments, studios and gallery spaces — all designed with affordability in mind.

Artists also congregate at the Old Bag Factory, which houses two floors of shops, restaurants, galleries and studios. Goertzen sells his pottery here, and a metal sculptor uses the factory’s former boilerhouse as a studio.

Mark Goertzen moved to Goshen to work at a pottery studio 26 years ago and never left.

In large part, Goshen owes its artistic renaissance to one couple, David Pottinger and Faye Peterson Pottinger. In the 1980s, they lovingly restored the historic South Side Soda Shop. Since then, they’ve restored dozens of other downtown buildings, including whole blocks now packed with restaurants and shops.

In several of those buildings, Goshen artists have established robust guilds for painters, clay artists, photographers and woodworkers.

“With the guilds, artists quickly found a home and a place to work,” Leichty said. “That’s been a great foundation for the vitality we’re experiencing now.”

For visitors, the guilds translate into a busy calendar of art classes, studio tours and gallery exhibitions. The Mich-iana Pottery Tour (Sept. 26-27) showcases seven galleries and more than 50 clay artists. And the Goshen Arts Tour (Nov. 6) highlights more than 100 artists in Goshen’s downtown galleries and shops.

Goshen’s dining scene is vibrant, too. A restaurant called Constant Spring pairs local brews with seasonal, organic cuisine. Pizzeria Venturi serves wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas and craft cocktails. Another favorite, Kelly Jae’s Café, offers Spanish tapas infused with Asian ­flavors.

The community’s diversity — about 28 percent of Goshen’s population is Hispanic or Latino, according to the 2010 census — is reflected in a wealth of taquerias, such as Los Primos and San Marcos.

The city has a long list of classic diners and artisan bakeries, including two that specialize in soft pretzels. And for dessert, there’s Olympia Candy Kitchen. In business for more than a century, it has hand-dipped chocolates and an old-fashioned soda fountain.