In the heart of South Whidbey a small company is doing big business.

It brings together the largest collection of artisan and designer functional art products available in North America.

Last year, Functional Art Gallery supplied more than 1,000 sinks for about 400 projects. They had hundreds of lighting projects for hotels, restaurants and homes.

The Functional Art Gallery of Langley is a growing family of online resources for designers, architects, builders and homeowners.

“We sell functional and architectural art; sinks, lighting, furniture,” said Jack Healy, co-owner and marketing mastermind behind the company.

The company’s focus is on handcrafted, functional and architectural works of art — things that you can’t find anywhere else, for both residential and commercial projects.

Functional Art does not sell production products such as sinks or lamps manufactured in mass production.

They specialize in custom and made-to-order work, selling completely unique pieces that are oftentimes not found in any showroom.

The company’s Web site is the right address for buyers in the market for unique and beautiful items, something custom-made by true artisans.

Functional Art doesn’t have a traditional showroom. The Internet is their presentation space.

“People often ask: Where can we see your stuff?” said Susann Guttman, Healy’s wife and business partner. “We then have to explain to them that it is not made yet.”

The company works closely with customers to match colors and structures to the project, a luxury possible because many products are produced especially according to the client’s wishes.

Customers can preview products at one of Functional Arts Web sites, www.GlassArtistsGallery.com, www.SinksGallery.com and www.ArtLightingGallery.com. Coming soon to the Functional Art family is a wood artists resource.

These are online catalogs, not retail sites, designed to showcase the artists’ work and provide ideas for completely new works, Healy said.

“We do things that the typical showroom and gallery don’t do,” he said.

Through the Web sites, more than 100 artists are represented, and some of them work and live on Whidbey Island.

One of these local artists is Guttman, a talented glass artist.

Her works make up about five to 10 percent of sales.

“That’s how we got started,” Healy said.

The company used paper catalogs when it first got going. But soon, the catalogs became too heavy to ship and too expensive to produce as more and more products and artists were added, she said.

“We have a unique business model,” Guttman said. “Technology has helped us to reach people who would have otherwise not known about us.”

The Internet has also changed the company’s clientele. The company once targeted mainly designers and architects. That’s changed in a big way.

“Home owners have become half of our business,” Healy said.

The company’s online resources now provide the largest collection of artisan and designer products available in North America, she said. It’s one-stop shopping for hundreds of artists.

“There is nobody like us,” Guttman said.

Products sold through Functional Art can be found in places as close as homes on the island or as far away as the Netherlands. Projects range from a single light in a private home to completely outfitting a hotel.

The secret of success for the small company may be a marriage of artistry and marketing know-how, in and outside the office.

Healy, who has a strong background in business and marketing, and Guttman, who has created glass art for many years, have combined their talents in this venture.

They enjoy life and work on Whidbey Island.

The couple moved their business and home to South Whidbey from Bellevue a year and a

half ago.