Sheridan, Wyoming describes itself as a place "where the Old West meets the New West - a pocket of world-class culture wrapped up in a hometown hospitality and authentic real West charm."
And according to a research report by Regional Technology Strategies, the area around Sheridan is also home to over 1000 people who work in the creative arts. This is roughly 6% of the area's workforce.
Lot's of interesting information in the report, including:
- 75% of the creative artists are self-employed
- More than 75% work from home
- Over half their sales are outside of the local region
One finding that caught my eye was that the Internet is not a significant source of source of business for the artists and that only a few had online sales. Another finding of note is that most of the artists considered their art related activity a business instead of a hobby.
Sheridan's involvement in the arts goes way back. Buffalo Bill auditioned acts there for his traveling Wild West show. And like many small towns, artists and new artisans are playing an important and growing economic role.
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