You are walking down S. Main Street in Galena, which is the town’s signature street lined with dozens of inviting retail stores amid a picturesque Civil War era backdrop, and you get stopped by a man currently with a Canon camera around his neck, urging you to check out his photography. Persuasive and memorable, you’ve just met one of the town’s most affable retailers, Geoffrey Mikol, who is a Co-owner of River Bend Gallery.

“Come see my photos in Galena. Stop by my store. Buy something awesome,” said Geoffrey with a huge smile during our interview.

“We decided to invest in the gallery and Geoffrey, because we really thought this is great family business and Geoffrey’s really talented,” said Paul Mikol, River Bend Gallery Co-owner and Geoffrey’s father. “If you see the work, there’s such an emotional component to it. It really drags people into the photos. It’s not something everyone can do. It’s not even something every photographer can do,” stated Paul with a palpable whiff of paternal pride.

“None of us have ever thought of Geoffrey as the ‘Down Syndrome Artist’. We opened as a gallery because he’s an incredible photographer, and that’s what brings people in,” explained Paul with a loving smile.

Paul describes his son’s unique photography as “naturescapes” with a unique perspective that only Geoffrey could capture through the lens of his camera.

“If any of us went by and shot the same picture, we would not get the same picture,” said Paul about how his son shoots. “He’s just got such a knack for pulling people in, for capturing a moment.”

And there seems to be nothing that Geoffrey enjoys more than capturing all the beauty that is Galena.

“It’s really cool, super cool,” said Geoffrey with an endearing smile. “It’s how I picture stuff.”

Business comes into focus
Geoffrey Mikol’s love of photography began unexpectedly in high school according to his father.

“Geoffrey took an elective photography course that he picked out for himself as a freshman,” explained Paul with a grin. “Knowing Geoffrey, he took it because he thought, ‘Hey, good. No homework with this class.’”

What started as a seemingly easy elective, blossomed into something much more significant, because of Geoffrey’s natural talent for composition. Fast forward to when Geoffrey finished community college in Chicago, when he had a pivotal conversation about his future.

“We sat down with him and said, ‘Hey, it’s time to get a job,’” Paul recalled with amusement., noting that Geoffrey’s top career choice was that he wanted to be a rock star. Paul said he responded supportively, telling his son, ‘Great. Keep practicing your guitar. Never know. That might happen, but while you’re waiting for that to gel, is there anything else you think you want to do?’”

Fortunately, as Paul shared, Geoffrey expressed interest in pursuing photography, a talent that had already brought him considerable recognition. Paul was delighted with his son’s choice, noting that his son “won awards, (had) been in a lot of different magazine and newspaper articles, and (had) been on TV,” recalled Paul. “I’m so happy he wanted to pursue that (photography), because not only is it good for him, it’s good for the people that buy his photography. If you look around the gallery, his work is very, for lack of a better word, very Zen like. It’s very peaceful. It’s very calming, and people really gravitate to that.”

At the time, the Mikols were living in Chicago. The thought to open a gallery devoted to Geoffrey’s work in Galena came after the family discovered this community – included in many of America’s Top 10 small town lists – while on a vacation.

“Geoffrey’s gallery in a tourist town like this has access to so many people, and has so many other small, cool businesses here,” reflected Paul, “I said, ‘that’s not the craziest idea.’”

The Mikols made the move to Galena and established River Bend Gallery in January 2016.

Picture of success

The success of River Bend Gallery stems from true family collaboration.

“With the business itself, I’m in the gallery selling and facilitating people meeting Geoffrey,” explained Paul about how River Bend runs its daily operations. “At home, my wife (Deb) is constantly printing the pictures, printing the slates, and making all the products that we sell. She makes those at home herself. So, it’s kind of like the family never sleeps. We’re either out photographing with Geoffrey, or we’re here in the gallery selling his work.”

The of the gallery has exceeded initial expectations of the family, spreading pride throughout Galena.

“It’s a feather in their cap that they have this amazing artist in their town,” said Paul. “It (River Bend Gallery) is one of the places if you come to Galena, chances are it’s one of the top half dozen places you will search out to say, ‘Hey, I read about this in advance. I’ve got to see what this is all about.’”

“It is a lot of fun to sell Geoffrey’s artwork to tourists that they are then going to take back to everywhere. To California, to Florida, to Alaska,” grinned Paul. “It is very entertaining for me to be able to see his work in so many different places. And I have to tell you, Geoffrey likes it a lot. He keeps a little scorecard of how many different places his work is actually in.”

Geoffrey has become an integral part of his community, and a “minor celebrity” in Galena according to Paul.

“He’ll walk the street. He’ll talk to the other owners (of other stores). ‘Hey, Joe! How’d your weekend go?’ He’s part of the fabric of life here, which is perfect.”

Illinois and Galena: Perfect exposure

Galena is a community that is regularly included in top ten lists among the small towns in which to live in America. It is a place of fascinating history, a landscape with a beautiful countryside, and a downtown as charming as any in the country. Over a million tourists a year explore Galena’s landscape protected by the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation, including Casper Bluff, with magnificent views of the Mississippi River. Downtown Galena has its own unique charm, showcasing architecture from the1800s and more than 125 shops and restaurants.

“Galena is the second most visited city in Illinois, right behind Chicago. They get about 1.5 million tourists a year through here,” said Paul who noted that the success of the gallery is intrinsically linked to the popularity of Galena.

“We really have a lot of people through here. We’re the center of the Midwest,” explained Paul who stressed he appreciates how tourism and retail development is supported in Illinois.

“What I want the people of Illinois to know about retail is we feel very supported by both the local community here in Galena and the state itself, explained Paul.
“It seems like it’s important to all of them that we succeed, so that all of us succeed. You can feel it all the way down the line. And it’s incredibly helpful. I feel retail is a critical component to Galena’s overall success.”

The picture tells the story

Paul greets new customers with the same warmth and genuine smile as he does with locals who browse the showroom of River Bend Gallery.

“I love retail for a lot of reasons. It’s different every day,” said Paul. “You meet a lot of fun people, especially where we’re at here in Galena. We get to talk to them from all over the country, and they’re coming to Illinois, because they’re probably either going to Galena or they’re going to Chicago.”

When you talk to Paul, you can feel the tremendous pride he has for his son, who has taken his passion and made a career for himself.

“What he does affects other people in such a positive manner, his personality, but also his artwork. And that artwork is up on people’s walls,” said Paul with a smile. “I’m proud of the man he is, and that he’s become. I’m very proud of the entrepreneur he’s become. He’s amazing.”