NOT OUR DEFAULT

NOTHING BY DEFAULT BRINGS IMMERSIVE, FUTURISTIC ART TO DOWNTOWN BATAVIA

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With remote work and online shopping fast becoming the new normal, two Batavia businessmen know these days people need a good reason to leave the confines of their homes. Andrew Heppner and Brennon Koedding, owners of Batavia’s Black Cactus Print House, are giving them just that with the launch of www. nothingbydefault.com, described as “a multimedia art platform for the future.” In late March, the community was invited to participate in — not just attend — a two-day exhibit presented through Nothing By Default called “Thank You for Leaving the House.” Held at Black Cactus, 11 E. Wilson St., the immersive art experience featured an art gallery and pop-up store. “Things are becoming a lot less brick-and-mortar so we wanted to create an over-the-top fun experience that’s worth leaving the house to go and buy something,” Heppner says. Featured art included hand-screenprinted newspapers, repurposed vintage clothing, scratch-off cards and more, all made by multiple artists. Heppner understands the reluctance these days to venture far beyond the comforts of home. “With ‘Thank You for Leaving the House’ we’re not trying to go against the current too much, but we do need to be more in-person,” he says. “Sometimes it’s way more convenient to be at home but we wanted to condense these trips to shop for both art and clothing into really fun experiences.” He and Koedding hope to eventually host quarterly events like the one in March. The duo is partnering with Chicago artist Vic Lloyd on the initiative. Lloyd worked at Leaders 1354, a streetwear boutique in Chicago, before opening Fat Tiger Workshop in 2013. The streetwear retail destination has grown into a central hub for Chicago creatives. “His connections and abilities to do events are way further along than us,” Heppner says. “He has all kinds of plans … food trucks, pop-up shops. And in between little events to avoid ever having a boring retail storefront.” The launch of Nothing By Default fulfills a dream years in the making. Heppner and Koedding started their own clothing lines about a decade ago. “And those were doing really good but we had to put those on hold,” Heppner says. “We needed to get Black Cactus Print House up and running to pay the bills. That ended up taking longer than we thought.” A custom apparel provider for businesses, brands and individuals all over the country, Black Cactus opened its doors in 2016. “Now we’re at a point where we can get back to doing our own designs,” Heppner says. He enjoys the idea of marrying an item purchase to an experience. For instance, the “Thank You for Leaving the House” exhibit featured elements to engage and challenge all the senses. “So everyone’s a little weirded out and out of their comfort zone,” Heppner says. “But then with something like this, you buy something and wear it and you can spend 30 minutes talking about it and the experience behind it.” For Koedding, seeing the “Thank You for Leaving the House” exhibit go from concept to reality over the past year has been gratifying. “We wanted it to be like an amusement park for the mind by triggering the senses in every room,” he says. “It’s been a fun experience from the beginning. It’s been a lot of work but now that it’s come to be I’m just so happy with how everything turned out. All that hard work has paid off.”