Board Member Spotlight: Andy Nagel

Creative Business Advocate

From behind one type of lens or another, Andy has been capturing content for most of his life.

Keen not just to observe, this work has drawn him into the community and into action compelling him to help shape it for the better. 

“With a background in photography,” Andy reflects, “I was always interested in image making so television and video seemed like a natural transition.”

Beginnings In Local Television
Television is actually what brought Andy to Greeley in 1981. After graduating from college, he came to work as a management trainee at a new franchise of Daniels CableVision. Though Daniels CableVision primarily delivered satellite cable channels, they made a special agreement with the City of Greeley to produce local TV programs in exchange for the City’s approval to run their new cable lines–the necessary infrastructure to support their business. At the time, local broadcasting was a relatively new concept. It afforded small communities the opportunity to advertise and create local programming that wouldn’t normally be aired in larger cities. As the niche grew, Andy migrated into local television. In the Local Origination Director position, he led the department responsible for highlighting local sports, events, advertising and happenings. He really liked being able to directly invest in the Greeley community by delivering this specialized content back to its residents who previously were only able to hear about the news and services centered in Denver.

Starting His Own Business
In 1986, Andy decided to step away from Daniels CableVision to start his own business Mirage Productions Inc. For many years he primarily focused on advertising content, but then eventually began to produce business and industrial material including safety training and corporate communications videos.

Artwerxs
By 2012, Andy found himself in need of a new studio for his business so he decided to purchase the old Jones Company building in downtown Greeley. Mortgage for the building and rent for other office spaces were fairly comparable so Andy chose to invest in the community. He wanted to participate in the City and the DDA’s downtown revitalization efforts, by helping bring new life into the formerly vacant space. Andy ultimately wanted to create a shared home for creatives, so he renamed the building Artwerxs and began inviting other businesses to rent space. While retaining a portion of the building for his own business, over the years Andy has hosted professionals from a wide variety of disciplines including fine art, photography, yoga and dance. Today Artwerxs is home to Eden Gallery (fine art), Balloon Boutique (balloon art/candy/celebrations) and GFY Production (audio/video/podcast production) and of course Andy’s business Mirage Productions Inc. which mostly provides video work for nonprofits and fundraising at this time.

Establishing the Greeley Creative District
Shortly after acquiring Artwerxs, Andy learned about efforts to obtain state certification to form the Greeley Creative District (GCD). The initiative was spearheaded by Pam Bricker and Becky Sarafrik, former contacts from his days in local television. Based on his experience with these movers and shakers, he had faith in their vision and their ability to bring it to fruition. So as a creative and active business owner in the proposed district, he joined them. As one of the first to receive its designation, The Greeley Creative District has been a bit of a pioneer–a respected leader and model for other creative districts around the state. Andy is really proud of the firm foundation built by the dedicated folks who have helped make the GCD what it is today and he is hopeful that we can continue to help it grow as we envision the future together—that we will be able to develop more programs/services that empower creative entrepreneurs to thrive.

by: Dana Buckingham