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THE BEGINNING
IN THE SUMMER OF 1992 I was fresh from the Corcoran College of Art with my BFA, and Jeff had just finished his BA from George Mason. We were members of an excellent rock band named Bazooka Blue. (Jeff played bass and guitar and I played drums) Our best friend suggested the idea of getting into business together, and about a year later we did.
THE SMALL DINING ROOM of my apartment was our first location. During the day, wearing our best suits, we would go to the offices of our friends and family and pick up various small items to be framed. These brave trusting souls were the basis for all of our later success. After several months we decided to try and find a cheap place to operate out of.
OUR FIRST LEGAL LOCATION was an industrial warehouse in Merryfield, Va. Located between Robert's Oxygen and an Auto parts wholesaler. We tried our best to make our new home look as retail as possible, but in reality it was simply a 20' X 20' place to work. We had visions of people somehow finding us and beating a path to our door, but those who did were mostly lost or looking for oxygen! We did a lot of pick-up and delivery. Never the less, by word of mouth alone, we gradually acquired a very loyal following. The only weak link in our business plan (besides the fact that we had no business plan) was all of the travel time. We needed a location that could bring in more than five customers a year.
Top photos: Don in the warehouse, bottom left: Jeff with a project for the Secret Service, bottom right: our feeble attempt at advertising.
THE BASEMENT of our current location was abandoned and in major need of repair and disinfectant. We desperately wanted out of our hot tin roof warehouse in Merryfield so we decided to move the operation to the farthest edge of Old Town Alexandria. The back door of our new location had been off the hinges for quite some time, and we suspected that many of our new neighbors had setup up retail establishes of there own. Many gallons of paint and bleach later we had our first true retail location. The smallest frame shop in Alexandria was now open for business. We subleased this location from the bridal shop above us. We got along well and had fun drinking with the grooms while their brides obsessed over shoe colors above......Years flew by and through word of mouth alone we grew and grew to the point that during the holiday rush of 1997 we literally ran out of room to store the incoming work. At that exact moment in time the bridal shop above us went out of business. We would end up taking over the entire building. We were never so scared, or so proud in our lives. To have such wonderful possibilities with the new large space, and to have our rent tripled!
Photos of our basement frame shop
FINALLY we had the room to expand our product line. We even added 3 rooms of Art space. Before we could do anything would have to loose the pink painted walls and blue trim of the bridal boutique. Our story continues to evolve from there. Every year we learn to routinely do things we only dreamed about a few years earlier. When people ask me what I think the secret to our success is, I honestly answer that it lies on the shoulders of our customers. Some how we have attracted a lot of wonderful people whom are so proud of the work we have done for them that they enthusiastically convert all of their friends into new clients. We are truly blessed.
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