HOT•BED: (noun) A place or situation where a lot of particular activity is happening or might happen.
Bryan Hoffman is the co-owner of new hot spot, HOT•BED Philadelphia, a gallery and event space he runs with owner James Oliver.
PGN: You have a variety of shows coming through HOT•BED. What’s here right now?
BH: We have an exhibit called “International Variety.” It’s all works on paper from 50 different artists. It’s the first time we do a show that was a collaboration between the James Oliver Gallery and HOT•BED. Our next, and third show is going to be called “Wild Americana.” It’s one artist, Emily White, who lives in Northern Liberties. She paints work that relates back to the Wild West and the Great Plains, and the huge impact that man has had on the animals and plants that were there before we were.
PGN: Are you from here?
BH: I was born in Newark, Del., and stayed there through school. I’m a University of Delaware graduate. I’ve only lived in Philadelphia proper for about eight years but my business, Hoffman Design Group (HDG), has always been Philadelphia-based.
PGN: My brother went to U of D; the Fighting Blue Hens, correct?
BH: Yes! I graduated in 1984 and started my company in 1991. We provide all sorts of horticultural services for companies all over the tristate area, including the University of D. They’re one of our accounts.
PGN: I remember their football cheer: “Wump ’em upside the head!”
BH: [Laughing] Oh yeah, I was in marching band, so I went to all the games.
PGN: What did you play?
BH: Trombone.
PGN: Did you have siblings?
BH: Yes, I have a younger sister, Susan. She’s a music teacher 10 months younger than I am. I was adopted.
PGN: How old were you when you found out?
BH: I always knew. It was never kept secret. I did meet my birth mother and it was a very positive experience. My parents always encouraged me to seek and get any answers I needed. It was a closed adoption, but I put some feelers out and got a response. I found that everyone in my birth family were all entrepreneurs who worked for themselves — artists and landscapers, caterers: All the things that I am, they were. No one had a typical 9-5 job working for a big corporation.
PGN: Wow, that nature-vs.-nurture aspect.
BH: Exactly. I was so blown away. Everything made sense to me once I met them; where I got the independent qualities that are so different from my mother and my sister. My sister is their natural child. We had a great childhood and we’re very close, but different. Then to see yourself reflected in people you’ve never really met before, that you never even knew existed, was wild. I found my mother’s brother owns an art gallery and also has a plant nursery. That’s what I’m doing! I’ve met a lot of my birth family now and one makes wine, the other has a charter-fishing business. I still haven’t completely wrapped my mind around it. And on the other side, growing up, my [adopted] father had a Ph.D. in chemistry and worked for DuPont for 40 years. But my parents always let me be my own free spirit. Even when I found a passion for gardening and plants, they encouraged it.
PGN: How long ago did you find your birth family?
BH: It was a while back, when I was in my 30s. My birth mother has since passed, but for a while I had two mothers at once. I have so much confidence knowing where this non-traditional side came from and that it’s OK.
PGN: [in gallery]: Tell me more about what this is.
BH: HOT•BED is a contemporary art gallery that explores the relationship between contemporary art, the artists who make it and horticulture; exploring biophilia, man’s innate love for humanity and nature, independence and freedom. How we can infuse an environment with plants and living things that give us oxygen so we can survive and do it with an artistic bent. I met James and we wanted to do something together. When this space became available, we jumped on it. We have room for galleries as well as a performance area complete with a small stage. I say that he’s the sky and this is the earth. His gallery upstairs is all white and very minimal, and this space is more focused towards the environment and artists who work with more earthy materials. Recently we’ve been doing a lot of cool vertical-wall projects. Moss walls are really hot right now. But my favorite project is the living wall I built here at HOT•BED.
PGN: How did you get involved with Lemon Hill, the historic house in Fairmount Park?
BH: When I first moved to Philadelphia, my friend Mark was living there as the caretaker and he invited me to stay with him. I think I paid $150 a month to live there. It was gorgeous, and in a full-circle moment when I started HDG, I got to go back and design their holiday showcase. That place is like Philadelphia’s White House — a beautiful Federal-style building. We donated our services that year.
PGN: What was something that, looking back, pointed to signs that you might be gay?
BH: I tease my mother because she was in charge of the entertainment for the mother-daughter banquet at our church. She thought it would be fun to dress all the men in drag and do a surprise fashion show. They put me in two outfits for the show, a swimsuit with a big straw hat and an Easter dress, so of course I tell my mother that’s what made me gay. I was 10 at the time. I didn’t officially come out until about 21 or 22. I think we all knew — I used to arrange flowers for godsakes — but there were not any role models or even anyone that I knew was gay, so there was nothing to guide me in coming out. I remember seeing two gay guys on Time magazine and thinking, What’s that? When I finally did come out, it was in college and I had a girlfriend. I told her first, and she told my parents. They were not happy about it, to say the least, and it took them a minute to get over it, but now of course they’re fine.
PGN: Do you have a partner now?
BH: Yes, we’ve been together for 18 years. He’s a partner in a software consulting company. I like smart men.
PGN: I forgot to mention how eclectic this spot is. I noticed two large komodo dragons in the other room.
BH: Yes! Glad you mentioned that. As I mentioned, we have a new exhibit opening up and we always want to keep things fresh. The horticulture, the seating, the decor will change for every exhibition. For the Wild America show, I have a life-sized bison that I’m bringing in. I want to have new surprises each time.
PGN: Speaking of surprises, which genre of music would people be surprised to find on your music list?
BH: I like Patsy Cline, but I don’t know if that’s surprising. I’m really into bossa nova and samba.
PGN: How about a word that starts with B that describes you?
BH: Oh, um, I don’t know. Any ideas, make an offer.
[Person in gallery]: Brave!
BH: That works. Thank you. Yes, you have to be brave to take chances and follow your dreams and I think I’ve done that.
PGN: Describe the benefits of plants in the home or office.
BH: On the most basic level, they make oxygen for us to breathe. It’s in our DNA to want to be part of nature. Plants are known to decrease toxins and bacteria in the air by 50-60 percent. But I don’t think you need a study to know that the smell of soil and the fragrance of flowers have an effect on you. And for those who are afraid and say, “I can’t do plants, they just die.” Well, guess what, we’re all dying slowly anyway, including plants. To leave people and their environments in a better place than when we found them is both the company motto and my personal goal.
PGN: Sounds like you’re succeeding.
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