Powderhorn Art Fair good for neighborhood economy; Navigate Forward sees executives more concerned with right fit

Business was good last weekend for Cheryl Shohet at the Powderhorn Art Fair, the smaller, grass-roots festival in the park about 3 miles from the huge Uptown Art Fair in the Twin Cities that plays the same weekend.

"I've won awards at Uptown and Powderhorn, but Uptown is more of a circus," said Shohet, metalsmith and jewelry maker, who has owned Waconia-based Cheryl Shohet Designs for more than 20 years. "I really appreciate Powderhorn because it's a beautiful park location, and it is just about art. When it's connected to retail or a music festival, the art can get diluted."

Powderhorn Art Fair, begun in 1991 partly as a lower-key alternative to glossier Uptown, is sponsored by the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It also has become a neighborhood economic event.

Tabitha Montgomery, executive director of the neighborhood group, estimates that the fair generates about $500,000 in economic impact, including food vendors and local restaurants. It nets enough profit to provide $8,000 to $20,000 annually to youth programs at Powderhorn Park.

Two hundred-plus exhibitors pay $275 apiece for space and judging fees. More than 20,000 visitors attend the two-day August fair.

Teresa Daly, the veteran corporate manager and consultant who opened the Navigate Forward boutique for job-searching executives in 2008, reports that more of her clients are as interested in the right fit than maximum bucks.

She and partner Mary Kloehn just surveyed 500 former clients. About half of her clients, who are on average age 49 and make $262,000 a year, report that they are willing to work for less money to get the right job — sometimes. That includes former Target and General Mills folks who left or lost jobs.

"Some of this may be due do the fact that executives are reluctant to relocate and take less to stay in the Twin Cities," Daly said. "I believe this is indicative of the fact that many executives want work that is [less] about wealth, but more about significance and making a difference. Many coming out of large ­companies want to go to a smaller company where they can have real impact, and others look at work that is more about mission or products and services with real social impact."

A number of these corporate veterans also have started their own businesses around town.

The younger generation of workers generally is not into corporate hierarchy, and they want freedom to do their own thing or at least to be able to have a say. And the good economy for highly skilled workers helps their case.

"They are not as smitten or captured by hierarchy or power," Daly said. "They want to … be treated well, They are willing to work hard, but they want … ownership, or responsibility, a voice heard in the right places, and they want a company that's ethical, paying attention to the problems of the world, and not taking advantage of the little guy or the environment. It isn't about getting rich for some of them as it is being responsible and making a difference. We [have clients] out of Target and General Mills and they say if I can't find a company that fits my values, I'll [work] on my own.

"They are holding companies accountable, and companies that want the best and brightest must pay attention."

"Resume matters for about 10 seconds," Daly said. "Then it's about who [applicants] are," and what they've done.

Neal St. Anthony has been a Star Tribune business columnist and reporter since 1984. He can be contacted at nstanthony@startribune.com.