84 Barker Street
www.peabodystudio.com
$40,000 HCLF micro loan
 

Dennis Peabody in his studio.

A visit to Dennis Peabody’s studio at the corner of Franklin Avenue and Barker Street is a veritable treat for the eyes. An award-winning artist specializing in dichroic glass, he speaks of his medium as “having the ability to reflect and transmit lightwaves, resulting in a striking and magical play of color and hue.” Each corner of the second-floor studio offers a unique cast of striking, rich color that takes on a variety of forms – not just the expected jewelry including earrings, necklaces and bracelets, but also gorgeous giant mirrors surrounded by a playful array of mosaics that instantly catch your eye and draw you in and around their copper patina edges.

Akin to some of the pieces in his studio, Dennis Peabody is a work still in progress. He began learning his craft in his late teens. Originally from East Granby, he moved to his current space in south Hartford, where he both lives and works, in 1984. Initially he pursued his art during his free time while paying the bills with a computer programming job at The Travelers. Eventually deciding to pursue his glasswork full time, he lived off his savings for one year and began seeking out commissions for stained glass windows.

Earrings in Dennis Peabody's studio

The road to his success was unfortunately less smooth than the shiny surfaces with which he works. “I saw that people were making kaleidoscopes out of dichroic glass, and I thought it was just gorgeous. It’s basically a stained glass which is coated with a fine layer of metal. I contacted a Denver glass company, and asked them for as many samples as they would ship for $200. When I got that first shipment, there were these marvelous sheets of glass, and its sheer brilliance and beauty was just breathtaking. Unfortunately, it was also just hugely expensive and not very available!” explains Peabody.

Fortunately he was in the midst of a stained glass window commission for a Farmington hot air balloon business, and had the opportunity to begin experimenting with the magic of his new find. First layering pieces of dichroic glass onto a striking chandelier for the business’ entryway, he then experimented with melting pieces of glass down and fusing them together. The exquisite results launched his career in designing and producing the jewelry and art pieces he now sells locally and nationally.

Investments in his new-found love were financed from the start with low-interest credit cards. “I work all year for November and December,” says Peabody, months when the majority of his creations find their way into beautiful packages tied neatly in bows. Those tidy arrangements were not manifesting in his business, though. “My debt was just snowballing because my credit card interest rates went up. I had something like four credit cards, and payments were all due at different times, and it was just too much to even want to keep track of. Then to make matters worse, I needed thousands of dollars worth of dental work and I had no insurance, so that personal debt was adding to the business debt,” he sighs.

Talking with the Hartford Economic Development Commission, he was encouraged to reduce his business debt by refinancing it. “I just didn’t know how to do that, but I was being slowly strangled by that debt,” he remembers. He had spoken with a local bank, but they could not lend him as much as he needed, and still the interest rate was going to be higher than he wanted. “What I really hoped for was a kind of one-stop-shopping. I needed someone to step in and take this chunk of debt, help me deal with it and manage it, and leave me feeling more peaceful about it,” he recalls.

Hearing his need and recognizing his wishes, the Commission suggested he contact the Hartford Community Loan Fund. “I stopped in, and saw Rosa Rubbo. I remembered her from when she worked with me in the past at Bank of Boston, and it was nice to reconnect,” he says with a warm smile. Even though he describes the process as a difficult one emotionally, having to reveal his spending habits through the piles of old credit card statements HCLF needed him to gather, HCLF encouraged Peabody to press forward. “It was all very tolerable, really. The requirements were explained clearly, though firmly. Through it all, I saw a really good heart underneath all of the requests Rosa Rubbo made, and even though the process was intimidating she got me through it,” he says.

Peabody winces as he reveals that his financial disorganization had caught up with him and was weighing him down, not just in his business but also in his art. “Getting those debts consolidated really took a lot of the pressure off. My goal is now to get back to a place where I can let the creative juices flow, and this is one of the stepping stones to getting back there,” he says confidently.

Before connecting with HCLF, Peabody didn’t feel quite as tied in to Hartford’s South End. More artist than businessman, he felt isolated from other local merchants. His is one of the only galleries in the neighborhood, but an accommodating landlord and, now, a committed local financial institution are helping to keep his gallery in south Hartford. “I like to believe my work heals people on some level,” muses Peabody. In helping get Peabody organized and back on the creative track, Hartford Community Loan Fund’s work with this talented artist is hopefully reflecting some of Peabody’s positive energy back into his business and his community.
 

Loan funds provided by CT Department of Economic and Community Development.