ENCINITAS — Cindy Blumkin and Paige Perkins aren’t your typical gallery owners.

The two women met last year while working on fundraisers for friends suffering from cancer. After soliciting items for a silent auction they decided to make their efforts a more permanent part of their lives. “We made a great team and Cindy knew we had to do something more than once a year to help people,” Perkins said.

Blumkin, a realtor, and Perkins, a landscape designer, forged ahead with a vision of exposing local artists to a wider customer base while giving back to the community. Their downtown Encinitas gallery, Art N Soul, opened in August.

“This all started with a conversation about how ridiculous it is that artists get so ripped off going into a typical gallery,” Perkins said. “No wonder beginning artists really don’t have a place to show their work.”

In addition to creating a haven for local artists, the owners have designed a revolutionary business model for allocating the store’s profits. An artist receives 60 percent of the proceeds of the sale of their work while the store takes the remaining 40 percent. After the low overhead is paid, all of the profits are donated to four local charities.

“This is a marriage between support of the artist and support of the community,” Blumkin said.

The regional organizations that receive an annual donation from the store will change each year according to Blumkin. Currently, they include San Diego-based Guitars in the Classroom, which teaches educators how to use guitar as a teaching mechanism; The Community Resource Center in Encinitas; Storefront Shelter, a Hillcrest organization that assists homeless adolescents; and ARTS (A Reason To Survive) in Point Loma which helps disadvantaged children discover their strengths through art therapy.

Rather than import art, Blumkin and Perkins looked around at the local art scene and found a wealth of talent, much of it untapped. “We have a very eclectic mixture of mediums and try to create a niche of homemade and handspun work,” Blumkin said. “We are supporting local and regional artists and people are thrilled to see the range and diversity of the artwork.”

Laura Wells from Christensen Studio has displayed her fine jewelry in the store for several months and says business has been brisk. However, her main attraction to the store is its philanthropic mission. “The charitable aspect of Art N Soul is simply good karma,” Wells said.

The entire staff consists of volunteers, including Blumkin and Perkins. “High school students are enrolled in a work-study program, retired people enjoy staffing the store because of the energy it has and we have artists who help out as well,” Perkins said.

“I arrange and display different vignettes so that each artist has a good, fresh space,” Perkins said. “My role is to make the store as visually pleasing and not too chaotic when you have that many artists in one spot.”

Artist Marion Renee of Fufulinda’s Unique and Wearable Art said the store’s mission inspires her. “My experience in Art N Soul has been very positive, I have sold a few key pieces of my collection. I am very honored that there are others that think so highly of my artwork,” she said. “This experience has given me courage to forge on.”

Franklin Bolster, whose acrylic on canvas paintings are for sale in the store said he enjoys having his work be part of a greater cause. “I think this store has brought a lot of meaning and purpose to a lot of peoples’ lives.”

Art N Soul is open Tuesday through Sunday and Monday by appointment, 633 S. Coast Hwy. 101. Call (858) 442-8666 for details.