The regrowth of Isleton on the banks of the Sacramento will take another step forward with the opening of “Mubdie’s: A Creative Collective” on November 18th. The shop will be located at 60 Main Street. It will feature the work of local, Delta-based artists and artisans who will each be members of the collective.
Shop-owner and manager Corinne Corley says that she wants artists to have a place to sell their work without having to pay commission. A four-step membership tier allows artists to pay a monthly fee at varying levels depending on how many shifts they work in the shop each month. “By having a fixed membership fee, the artists know what their expense will be, and in turn they know that the entire proceeds of their sales come directly to them.”
Corley moved to the area in early 2018, becoming a full-time resident at the end of that year. In 2020, she helped start the Sunday Market, a project of the Delta Bay Foundation of which Corley is the secretary. The Sunday Market allows local artists to sell their work through the summer months, with additional special markets in the spring, fall, and in December. “But a lot of artists and artisans in the Delta don’t have a year-round place to showcase their work,” Corley observed. “I want to provide that place, and I also want to be part of the exciting things happening on Main Street.”
This is not the first time that Corley has been part of an effort to showcase local art. In her native Kansas City, Corley, along with a friend who had a traditional gallery, started a public art space in the suite where Corley had her law firm and the hallways of the building’s lobby. “We changed art every three months, hosting an opening reception for each new artist,” Corley explained. “Featured artists could sell their work on opening night or at any time while their show graced our walls. We didn’t charge them to show their work, and they let us enjoy the beautiful paintings for free. It was a win-win arrangement.”
Corley took the new shop’s name from the Arabic word for a “creative person”, she said. “Mubdie or Mubdia mean ‘an innovator, an inventor, someone who finds and creates things’” Corley’s maternal grandfather was Syrian, her maternal grandmother was Austrian, and her father’s side of the family was almost entirely Irish. “Basically, I looked up ‘creative’ in Arabic, Gaelic, and German,” she laughed. “It sounded best in Arabic.” She originally planned to call the shop an “artist cooperative”, but some of the folks whom she knows in the Delta don’t consider themselves to be “artists”. “You’re a finicky collection of creatives,” she told them; and the full name was born.
Mubdie’s will have a grand opening on November 18th, from 10am to 5pm. It will be open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through December 23rd. The shop will be closed from December 24th through mid-January for the holidays. Corley has already joined the Isleton Chamber of Commerce and plans to be an active member. “I read recently that Isleton is the ‘Paris of the Delta,’” she noted. “I’ve never ben to Paris, but I’ve been to Isleton, and I want to be part of the excitement as Main Street makes its glorious come-back!” Corley also plans to offer a place for members of the collective to host workshops and demonstrations. The multi-room storefront has plenty of room for display as well as a separate workroom.Interested Delta-based artists and artisans can call Corinne Corley at 816-520-9152 or email her at: ccorleyjd@gmail.com. Local, self-published authors are also invited to be part of “Mubdie’s”, where Corley’s 2022 essay collection will be also be on sale. Corley invites the public to browse the store at the grand opening, and to always shop and support local for gift-giving and home décor. “Mubdie’s wants to be your go-to for the holidays,” she noted. “And while you’re in Isleton, grab a coffee at Isleton Coffee Company and a fresh biscuit or pastry while there, house-made by the Isleton Biscuit Company. Get lunch at the McBoodery, or a beer at Mei Wah. On the way out of town, drive through Java Jack’s for a cold drink. You’re in Paris, after all! And everyone knows, that Paris – or in this case, Isleton – has the best shops!”
