New York - 2021 In 1985 Richard 'Sean' Manning moved from upstate New York to the gulf coast of Florida, and joined Jabil Circuit. He worked his way into management, and before the age of forty, had retired to concentrate on his artistic endeavors, philanthropic pursuits, and his personal investments.
For many years he maintained a large private studio in a 31,000 square foot, historic 1926 Seaboard Train Station, located in St Petersburg, Florida, that he was involved in the purchase and total restoration of. While there, he met and learned from some of the masters in the clay world who became his good friends and mentors, including the late Rudy Autio, Don Reitz, Paul Soldner and Peter Voulkos, as well as professors John Balistreri and Matt Long. They have all influenced and guided him.
Sean is a prolific ceramic artist who throws upwards of five tons of clay each year, and he also creates art in a wide variety of mediums, including painting on canvas and museum quality paper, using ink, oil and acrylic. He works with metal, blows glass, and even designs frames and displays for his art using exotic wood. His art has a common thread...to help promote love, peace, joy and unity, and to make a difference.
As a young woman, Laura Jean worked in the real estate industry, and managed a branch office in the upscale Yorkville area of Toronto. She helped to re-sell the first condominium apartment skyscraper, from those who had bought from plans and wanted to 'flip' their asset to end users. After this major success, she moved to London, England and established a hi-end fashion agency representing some of the leading designer labels of the day. She has dressed the rich and the famous, but has remained a country girl at heart.
These two powerhouses met and married, and have woven a life together spending half the year in Lockport, New York, where they have large art studios, and the other half of the year between Florida, Colorado and London, where they spend quality time with their four adult children, their partners and three grandchildren.
Sean's art is sought after by private collectors and museums, and the biggest honor to date for him and Laura Jean, has been to have a pair of his seven foot tall, ceramic '9/11 Towers of Unity' in a permanent exhibit at ground zero, in the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, in NYC. He also presented them with a 'One Family' American flag, which the Museum proudly hangs in their main conference room. The image is licensed to the Museum to create point of sale merchandise for their gift shop to raise funds for their worthy cause.
As a memorial to all those affected by 9/11...past...present and future, Sean committed to paint a series of 3000 original works of art, to help raise funds for worthy causes. So far he has completed 2200 paintings, and continues to add to that number.
Sean is a founding member of the First Tee of St Petersburg, and together with Laura Jean they funded the Manning Family Mentoring Center in St Petersburg, Florida, to give kids a place to go after school to do their homework, have a snack, and to excel in life through the game of golf, which teaches core values.
In 2003 Sean bought the property that is now known as Freedom Run Winery. It has been continuously run by family members until recently. With the passing of a younger brother, and the retirement of an older one, Sean and Laura Jean stepped in to prepare the winery for sale. They have weathered the storm created by the Pandemic, and together with a great team of professionals, who have had their feet on the ground on a daily basis, a new path was forged.
They hired additional staff when others were laying people off, and promoted existing staff to create a cohesive team. Virtual wine tasting videos were developed, and online ordering was created so that customers could pick up curb-side at the Tasting Room, or could have wine shipped across the country, directly to their door, through Vino-shipper.
The team provided wine to a local distiller to create hand sanitizer for the community. This was available at the Tasting Room for free, resulting in people showing support by buying bottles of wine to take home. Freedom Run Winery also supports charity through donations of wine tasting certificates that are auctioned at fundraising events, which brings a new client base into the winery.
Fun events were introduced such as a music series, Shakespeare, arts & craft lessons, yoga every weekend, movie and game nights, Friday dinners and Sunday brunches, and a wine club was formed. They invested in marketing and social media, and promoted more weddings and events by teaming up with an exclusive caterer to book the amazing venues at Freedom Run Winery.
Sean has created affordable art that is sold in the Tasting Room, and Laura Jean has curated exhibits of his larger works of art, so that patrons always have something new to view. After all the winery slogan is, 'We View Wine As Art'.
The most recent art installation has been a series of 18 works of ceramic art displayed on a self guided walking tour of the vineyards and apple orchard, and leads up to the base of the Niagara Escarpment at Freedom Run Winery. This 'Art Walk' is contemplative and humbling, as fugitive slaves ran under cover of night, along the Niagara Escarpment, to escape across the Niagara River, which is 18 miles north of the winery, and into Canada, hence the name ~ Freedom Run Winery.
With a healthy harvest ahead, and a great team of professionals in place, who have a love for the land and experience in producing award winning wines, and with a solid retail team, Sean and Laura Jean feel that the winery is primed for expansion. There is great potential to increase revenue through wholesale distribution, especially of the freeze distilled apple wine produced from the apple orchard, and by continuing to grow the retail business through the tasting room, as well as increased wedding and event bookings.
Sean, Laura Jean, and The Team, look forward to welcoming a new owner who will take Freedom Run Winery to the next level.
