Mike Wolanin | The Republic Deanna Hookway, owner of T. S. Artisans, uses a spray bottle to water plants at T.S. Artisans in downtown Columbus, Ind., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. Hookway has announced that she is retiring and that Feb. 5 is the last day of retail operations.
A staple of the downtown Columbus arts scene is closing its doors less than a week from now.
T.S. Artisans, an art and gift shop that has served as an outlet for local artists to sell their work, will close at the end of the day Feb. 5 as its owner, Deanna Hookway, retires.
“I truly appreciate the support that I’ve received in the last almost two years I’ve had the store. I appreciate how they’ve come in and really embraced the changes that we’ve made and commented on the caliber of work that we have in here,” Hookway said. “It truly means the world to me and I know that Jaime Mustaine who started the store would feel the same way.”
Hookway, who previously worked in information technology as a system analyst, took the business over from Mustaine about two years ago. Mustaine first created the business about 12 years ago with the goal of promoting local art, and the store has gone on to feature over 50 local artists that span all sorts of mediums including ceramics, watercolor paintings, jewelry and much more.
“That’s the one thing I will be sad to see go because you’re not going to be able to find a collection like this anywhere in town and know that you’re getting something that lives here or works here or lives close to here,” Hookway said.
But as Mustaine was getting ready to close the store because of health issues, she suggested that Hookway and her husband buy the store. Not wanting to see the only store in the area where one can walk in and know that they are getting local art die off, she accepted the offer to continue T.S. Artisans’ legacy.
“And so I wanted to continue that legacy and I had ideas of how I wanted to change the store a little bit,” Hookway said. “And so I thought it would be a challenge, and it was, it is, and a challenge that I’ve had fun with and I think that I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish and met so many different people and so many different artists.”
Hookway wanted to curate the works down to focus more on higher level arts and gifts. She also wanted to change the overall look and feel of the space into something more zen like and brought in lots of plants to the store. She used to run a plant store in Batesville and she loves plants, so that wasn’t too big a stretch for her, she said.
“And I do love coming in here and being immersed in the art and so many people have told me, like, ‘I love the changes that you’ve done. I love coming in here,’ even if they don’t buy anything and just looking around and feeling kind of zen like, which I really appreciate and I feel that way too when I come in here,” Hookway said.
Hookway’s decision to retire comes from her and her husband wanting to travel more, which she said is tricky to do especially when going out of the country, when you’re tied down to a store. She also wants to see her kids more as they all live far away from them and wants to have more time to be creative on her own.
“I thought that owning an art gallery would allow me to be creative but I spend a lot more time running the store than I do being creative,” Hookway said. “So I’m looking forward to that and just relaxing after a 40-some year career.”
She considers this to be her third and last time retiring, as she retired from her job at Global Atlantic Insurance about four years ago to spend time restoring her new house in Columbus. They called her back to her old position and then a new position, which she worked in for about a year and a half each.
The artists were some of the first to know of her retirement in December, and Hookway said the news was met with sadness as many of them did not know where they were going to go now.
“Some of them go to the Farmer’s Market, some of them go to other shows that are around but having a place where their work can be seen on a daily basis is really important to them,” Hookway said. “So they’re sad to see it go, for sure.”
T.S. Artisans will be open on select days in February to sell off fixtures and for pickups, and these dates have yet to be announced. As it is a consignment store, artists will come to pick up their works after Feb. 5, Hookway said.
She isn’t sure what will happen to the space after T.S. Artisans closes, but the space is actively showing. A few people were interested in taking over the business from Hookway, but those plans fell through, she said. She would love for a space similar to T.S. Artisans to open and she is willing to help anyone who wants to open something similar get that business going.
Hookway described the closing as bittersweet. She said she definitely won’t miss certain aspects of the business like social media, but she will miss the customers she’s met. She loves talking to people who come in, getting to know them and helping them find the right piece or gift. Hookway said she’ll also miss being surrounded by these artists’ spectacular works and being able to help them, especially people who are just getting into making and marketing their art.
“It’s been great to see them grow and great to have customers coming in asking specifically for their work,” Hookway said. “It’s been really fun.”
