About Us

Who We Are
Owned by Jimmy Rhodes, Valley Art Group is a sales representative agency that specializes in bringing better gift, home décor, garden, men’s, women’s and kid’s accessories, and bath and body lines to retailers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North and South Dakota.

Jim & Ann Swanson, Valley Art Group Founders

The Valley Art Group is a sales representative agency operating "on-the-road".  This small but mighty group gets a lot of windshield time as we bring our carloads of samples across our five state territory.

Our Philosophy
Jim & Anne brought 30+ years of experience in the gift industry to the Valley Art Group.  I met Jim & Anne as a retailer looking for unique lines and a found them with the Valley Art Group.  The Valley Art Group will continue to look for lines that are unique and have qualities that distinguish them from others. We work with many regional makers, artisans and manufacturers that embrace Fair Trade principles.

In this constantly changing marketplace, we focus on more than just presenting product and writing orders. We want to help build your business by creating your “story” with exciting products that support your store’s mission.

We also believe it’s important to have fun! We enjoy cultivating relationships with our customers and the companies we represent.

How We Started
Valley Art Group was created by Jim Swanson in 2003.  After 20+ years of being a professional rep in the Upper Midwest he felt it was time to do what he does best: find great lines and bring them to his customers with a large dose of humor. It’s in this spirit that he developed Valley Art Group.  Jim continues to do those things, helping identify lines,  provide insight to our rep group and customers (with his unique sense of humor), and get his fair share of windshield time visiting customers.

While Jim may have stepped back, he remains an integral part of the Valley Art Group.