The new Commercial Street space houses an art gallery and plans to open a retail space in September.

Astoria’s newest downtown art gallery has plans to be much more than just that. Squeezed between the new Dutch Delights store and the entrance to the M.H. Smith building, which also houses Gulley’s Butcher Shop, Made in Astoria is a multipurpose space.

It’s an art gallery in the front, and launching in September will be a retail makers market on the back end.

With the gallery, co-founders Annie Eskelin and Bill Atwood aim to elevate local artists. “We have incredible underground artists in Astoria who are right under our noses and have not been represented,” Atwood said. “It’s unmistakable the talent that resides in this town.”

The duo, who are also partners in life, unveiled the space in July. “We’re both artists and we’ve been working in the arts, our entire relationship together — 25 years — and so it feels very comfortable to us,” Eskelin said. “We know a lot of artists, it’s really exciting to curate our own shows.”

Eskelin is familiar to the local arts community through her longtime work at RiverSea Gallery and Astoria Visual Arts. “I’ve been entrenched in the local art scene, and here in our own space we found a niche to cater to specifically local artists,” she said. “This is a really exciting opportunity to break away and do something that’s my husband and I together.”

The August Astoria Art Walk was the first that Made in Astoria participated in. The featured artist in the gallery’s inaugural show, titled “VALUBL OBJX,” was Paul McLean.

The artist, writer and educator of 40 years moved to Astoria in 2018 from Brooklyn, and the show, his first in the Northwest, consists of expressive paintings made with vinyl paint that are part of a cycle called “Vynil.”

McLean said Made in Astoria has “a vision that is different than a formal white box art gallery,” offering him an opportunity to present a show of the type that he’s used to making, from Beverly Hills, California, to New York City and elsewhere around the United States.

“This is the only time we have one artist showing throughout the space,” Atwood said. McLean’s work will be on display until Sept. 5 and McLean will hold an artist talk at Made in Astoria at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

The gallery’s retail shop will feature creators who are current or past residents of Astoria. A rotating lineup of local makers of fine art and fine craft will showcase their creations, from fiber arts to jewelry, to musical instruments and clothing.

The store will also provide visitors to the area an opportunity to take home local gifts on the spot or find a new artist and be pointed to their work directly from their studios. “The number one question from people coming off cruises is, ‘Where can I buy locally-made goods?’’ Atwood said. He added that Made in Astoria provides a downtown answer to that question.

“We aren’t going to have an exclusive model. We want to connect artists with patrons and have a more community-oriented place, which is different from a regular gallery,” Eskelin added.

Through the space, which will serve as a referral hub, Atwood added that “artists will get a chance to connect with people and build their own following.” An additional offering planned will be intimate, recorded concerts.

Made in Astoria

1269 Commercial St., Astoria

Open from Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays

New to Astoria’s Second Saturday Art Walk