Save High Vibe Society!

High Vibe Society is an artisan collective based out of South Lake Tahoe, CA. A true labor of love, owner Erin Ulcickas has poured her heart, soul, and finances into the space to provide a welcoming space for all community members, not just artists, to gather and share their talents. This space includes a music venue, art gallery, retail store selling locally-made goods, and artist studio spaces in addition to various creative classes taught by local artists. Future plans included installing a ceramics studio and a black and white film darkroom. 

Despite the overwhelming praise from the community - the number one comment we get from visitors is that "Tahoe has needed this for so long"-  it unfortunately all boils down to money. As a new, small business, it is hard for an art-based space to produce ample funds to survive in this area, especially in the first year of business. Permitting issues from the city have drastically slowed down the progress of the business, hindering the ability to hold events to keep money coming in.

As of March 21, 2018, High Vibe Society will have to close its doors unless the necessary funds are raised within the next week. If you would like to see this project continue to exist in our community, please donate and share this page! Any contribution helps and will be immediately invested in the survival of this space!

We appreciate everyone who continues to support our vision for what Tahoe could be!

highvibesociety.org 
facebook.com/highvibesociety/ 
instagram.com/high_vibe_society/ 


Erin received the John Moran award for Entrepreneur of the Year for "overcoming insurmountable obstacles" in December of 2017.

She has been hosting pop-ups for the Collective's artist members in the years leading up to securing a space and even partnered with various local non-profits like Keep Tahoe Blue to give back to our community. 


We signed our lease for our space in May of 2017 and began renovations of our new home.


This endeavor truly has been a labor of love to execute and continues to be the reason why Erin works over 100 hours a week, including keeping another job, to continue the growth of this project.

The day we signed the lease to our home.

The community has been a pivotal part in the creation of this space, with various residents coming out to demolish, paint, spackle, sand, clean and build out the studio.


Despite all of the help from the community, Erin has done much of the work herself- learning how to do anything from laying floor and molding, building various furniture and storage items, and everything in between.

Before we got ahold of the building, it was extremely dingy and had various issues with electrical, plumbing, ADA compliance, and mold.


Our first community info meeting about to begin.

We had an overwhelming response from the local community which continued to bolster our vision and drive.

Since opening our doors officially in July of 2017, we have hosted various arts events focused on giving back to both our local and global communities. Above is a flyer from our silent auction to raise money for victims of Hurricane Maria. Below is an art opening we partnered with the Tahoe Activist Artists on to raise money for victims of the Northern California fires.


Our artist studio space currently houses 10 local artists that use our space to create their work, with the ability to house 5 more.

In addition to housing various other events, we also host pop-up shops in our space to help local artists, makers, and virtual businesses be able to get their product into the world in a real way.

We continue to support other arts organizations around the lake and enjoy collaborating to further build the creative community, here. Above, Erin and Robert Schimmel talk about our vision on the Tahoe Arts Scene radio show. 

We also function as a space for our conscious community to gather to host events based on understanding, tolerance, compassion and empathy. Above, Emily Winter and Erica Eng host a vision board & meditation workshop for the new year.

Our gallery space is the best way for local artists to be able to grow and show their creative skills. Above, member Tom Kendrick hangs his first exhibition.

Our gallery offers the ability for viewers to meet the artists whose work they see and be able to really get to know the meaning of their work and the passion behind it.

Above, a gallery show about sustainability, in all forms.

We don't just cater to 2 or 3-dimension artists, we also host events where local filmmakers can share their videos with the community. Above, our Local Lowdown showcased the movies of 3 local filmmakers and 7 local snow vendors from around the lake.

Local artists can teach workshops and classes in our space, with access to various materials donated by the community, being able to share their skills and techniques with others.

We just opened our newest offsite gallery at South Lake Brewing Company in January of 2018. We planned to announce more collaborations with other local businesses that emphasize the importance of our local community and fostering greater community values.

We hope this has gived you a small glimpse into the importance of this space and it's ability to better this community. Please consider giving what you can as any amount brings us one step closer to keeping our doors open!

Love & light to you all.