“The details are details. They make the product. The connections, the connections, the connections. It will in the end be these details that give the product its life.”

- Charles Eames

Collared once with the label “man of the cloth” for his intricate fabric collages, fifty-few-year-old local galleryist Joel Fremion remains today an enthusiastic and dedicated proselytizer for homegrown talent.

“It has always been a disturbing part of the area art scene that collectors have historically placed an emphasis on work, whether in the fine arts or crafts, created outside Fort Wayne,” he says to anyone listening. “It is as though they relate value and quality solely on the basis of its being ‘imported’ rather than locally created.

“That’s one of my main themes now - in-sourcing, not outsourcing talent.”

“While he doesn’t hold the exclusive patent on that idea, the articulate and talented artist/entrepreneur has demonstrated a two-decade long history of championing local artists and artisans first in 1987 with his Old House Galleries in Lakeside and now, begun in 2004, with his Indiana for Modern complex in Uniondale.

Reclaimed from what may have been an auto dealership on the main street of this tiny northern Wells County hamlet off of State Road 224 Fremion, together with partner Raymond New and collaborators Bill Lupkin and Richard Tuck, have created a gallery and studio workshop the likes of which have never before been seen in these parts.

This foursome, each with well-established reputations in their separate areas, has combined to form a consortium of talent that mimics a guild of craftsmanship that harkens back to other times and places. Tuck (the much collected and celebrated stoneware sculptor), Lupkin (whose leaded stained glass and mosaic installations adorn numerous regional churches) and New (a master woodworker), together with Fremion, have embarked on a journey to fabricate unique elements of interior/exterior handcrafted furniture.

Initially inspired by the look of the furniture made popular by the Dunbar Company of Berne in the 20 years following the WWII, Fremion and his associates have dedicated themselves to the revival of this modernist style, a style that is both contemporary (think Scandinavian) and yet imbues a kind of timelessness of quality (think Shaker).

In the case of their room screens or dividers, the group uses exotic woods to fashion inlaid veneer designs, and they incorporate sculpted ceramic elements along with epoxy resin “windows” and rich, molten glass panels. The pieces also contain suede and fabric collages and the results are not only unique but resonate with quality and craftsmanship.

The small side or end tables make use of special rare woods, and some are topped with hand-blown and molded art glass and pottery inserts. Brass, aluminum and stainless steel, as with the original Dunbar, are used as accents.

“Our intention is to reinterpret and reproduce the 50s modern eraÇ classic designs,” Fremion states. “We believe we can better some of the designs by the incorporation of exotic woods, ceramic and glass mosaic tops and technical advances not available 50 years ago. We feel, because of the rarity of many of these designs, that we will be able to market our designs to the vintage market as well as to the developing retro market.”

The Arts and Crafts Indiana for Modern building with a 6,000-square-foot workshop and assembly area together with an adjoining two-story gallery and showroom was actually opened with a thoroughly wonderful show in early May. The exhibition features works from the “Jewelry for the Home” collection of accessory tables and room screens along with works from artists George McCullough, Norman Bradley, David Krouse and Russell Oettel in addition to pieces by Fremion, Lupkin and Tuck. The show is still up and is well worth the half-hour drive. (See www.indianamodern.com for more info).

Fremion’s path to the creation of Indiana for Modern actually began at the old Fort Wayne Art Institute where he studied art history, painting, design and metalsmithing under instructors like McCullough, Bradley and Oettel. From there he went on to study at the former Purdue University DIGITS campus where he pursued work in contract and residential interior and architectural design.

At one point he apprenticed with the former local architect and painter Dale Amburn.

Most ironically, about 10 years ago he and his wife Nancy purchased a house in Ossian only to learn later, after perusing the structure’s blueprints, that it was designed by his mentor Amburn.

The home serves as a most suitable showcase for Fremion’s vast collection of not only Dunbar furnishings but a formidable library related to all things Dunbar, including materials related to Dunbar designers Edward Wormley and Roger Lee Sprunger. Some day Fremion hopes to produce a definitive book on the two designers and the Dunbar legacy.

That’s a project that may have to wait a bit as his time is consumed with commissioned work through Indiana for Modern.