Chloe Kottwitz ’21 acquires long-time neon shop in Richmond
Alfred University alumna Chloe Kottwitz, who earned a B.F.A. degree in 2021, was featured in the Aug. 14, 2023, issue of Richmond BizSense, Richmond, Virginia’s premier source of business news and information.
The story, “Uptown Neon looks to add some extra glow under new ownership,” outline’s her purchase of Uptown Neon, an established Richmond neon sign shop. The 24-year-old Kottwitz bought the business this spring, taking over for her mentor Doug Solyan, who had run it for 35 years before his death a little over a year ago.
In the story, Kottwitz, a native of Bolivar, NY, said she became interested in neon art when she took a glassblowing class while pursuing her B.F.A. Today, Uptown Neon is the only remaining shop in Richmond dedicated solely to neon. Kottwitz creates neon art for sale in the store and is working to make Uptown Neon more of a destination.
“I would like to have it be a place where people stop by and check things out … [so] people just feel free to be in the space,” she said in the story.