Those in the Houghton community have probably noticed that the building which was once Subway and then vacated for a bit now houses a new business: the River Dog Fly Shop.
Walking into the store, one is almost inundated with how different the interior is to what the chain sandwich shop once looked like, seeing walls covered with fishing lines, hammocks hanging in display, a big desk area taking up the center of the main space, and the side area turned into a quasi-art gallery.
Owner Indrek Kongats emphasized that the store was based around the outdoors very broadly, though the name is focused on fly fishing. Nearly anything that is centered around outdoor activity is found here. There are hammocks, backpacks, knives, and more. They are aiming to also exploit more water and boating activities, with canoes and kayaks.
An especially unique aspect of the shop is the art gallery, dubbed the “River Dog Gallery,” located in a small room off the main shop area. The work contained there includes etchings, oil and watercolor paintings, wood sculptures, and mixed media pieces. Notably, all pieces are originals and signed by the artists. There are also nature and sports artwork books and magazines which feature art from sporting artists—both displayed and not.
Some of the most notable artists with work on display and for sale are Gordon Allen, C.D. Clarke, Rod Crossman, Felix Eljas, Walter Look, and Morten Fadum.
Clarke and Crossman both have local ties. Clarke, born in nearby Rochester, NY, is one of the nation’s most talented watercolor and oil artists who primarily paints fishing, hunting, and outdoor scenes, according to Sporting Artisans. Crossman, who was raised mostly in upstate New York, is another sporting artist, and he loves to fly fish. His work can be found in a number of sporting publications regularly.
“Our fine collection of sporting artists is only equaled by top galleries in New York city…‘we’ve brought a little bit of Manhattan to Houghton!’” their website (riverdogflyfishing.com) exclaims.
Pieces are available for purchase and custom framings are available for any prints which are not yet framed.
Kongats says he has high hopes for the expansion of the art gallery. He has spoken with Houghton College ceramics professor Aaron Harrison about the opportunity of having more local artists involved in the gallery. He eventually hopes to make the gallery more of a destination that people will want to travel to see, which he hopes to accomplish by getting the word out about it.
While the art may draw in a certain crowd, there are other compelling aspects. Along with the already mentioned outdoor items, the shop also has sporting DVDs and reads; gifts, including mugs and cups; sporting dogs; and t-shirts. The t-shirts include River Dog Fly Shop specific shirts as well as more generic “Houghton, NY” shirts, which Kongats said were a particular fan favorite among the groups of college students who have visited the store.
As time goes on, it seems Houghton students will come to know the River Dog Fly Fishing Shop as a place to stop for any of their outdoor needs, artists will find it to be a wonderful place to display and sell their work, and art fans will put it on their lists of galleries to see. ★