They met at the School of the Art Institute in the early 1990s. Shane Montgomery, originally from Virginia and fresh from college in Philadelphia, was a sculptor. Mark Bello, originally from New Jersey by way of St. Louis, worked in various mediums.
Like many students, Bello had a part-time job. He delivered futons. After he moved up to selling the things, he got jobs in the store for Montgomery and another student/painter pal named Rich Bott.
When they graduated, and with no art dealers banging down their studio doors, they decided to go into the futon business for themselves.
They found space in what had been a lounge that had been sitting vacant for nine years at 1184 N. Milwaukee Ave., on the rather bleak corner of Division Street.
We sell sofas, so we dont have to make art to match them, says Bello, by way of a philosophy for Right-On Futon.
Juggling creativity and commerce can be a difficult act. The idea when the store opened in May of 1995 was that there would be enough space to provide in-store studios for the artists/proprietors. But customers kept demanding their time, and new furnishings began filling all of their space.
Bott’s murals are displayed in the store and Bello and Montgomery have publicly shown their conceptual works, but they haven’t sold many. However, they have sold plenty of futons, lava lamps, bookshelves, beanbag chairs, bed frames, tables, barstools, fabrics and pillows. To walk into the store is to find yourself in a colorful psychedelic emporium where fun meets function.
Still, they create.
“The balance between work and art is hard,” says the 27-year-old Montgomery. “But I’m dedicated. I make the time to sculpt. The demands of working here lend intensity to my work.”
The 29-year-old Bello also finds time for art, while admitting that he has become “a trade show junkie.”
A trade show is where he found the eye he is holding in the photo.
It’s one of 144 that are being used to decorate the store’s large Division Street window for a wonderful and wild Halloween display that is a delight for neighbors and customers, and a chance for some guys to indulge, modestly, their artistic urges and passions.
