Art born in Montana, made in China
Lincoln, Montana — Rick Rowley has gone a long way in his varied artistic and business career — half way around the world to China.
The 49-year-old Lincoln man splits his time in two-month stints between Montana and Xiamen, China, a bustling port and factory city of 2.6 million in southern China.
Rowley owns a factory making gift shop items, contracts with a foundry casting his bronze sculptures and even helps other companies find Chinese manufacturers.
Six years ago he was operating a successful Missoula studio and gallery making custom wood and bronze sculptures when he ventured into China, looking for a cheaper way to hit the mass market.
Montana gift shops stocked his small made-in-Montana animal figures and western characters resin figures, but sales suffered because his products sold for about twice as much as those made in China.
He decided to investigate manufacturing opportunities in China, “jumped in with both feet,” and made lots of mistakes.
But he stayed in China, living in dirty factory towns to learn Mandarin and the Chinese culture and work ethic.
Today Rowley owns a factory in Xiamen that employs as many as 50 workers who make smaller resin figurines for him. He has lines of bears, moose, western characters, Christmas themes and Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats. They’re carried in several department stores and gift shops at the state, regional and national levels.
