Evolution

"Change is inevitable at NFA" has regularly been posted in various parts of Nelson Fine Art to prepare folks for the next iteration of gallery layout. Part of the natural evolution of a business is steady, regular change. Change forces you to get better or get out and it's a necessity. For the past 5 years, Artopia Art supply store has occupied a significant piece of real estate as well as being an important influence on the Nelson Fine Art business plan. In order for Artopia to evolve, owner, Becky Mallory has decided to move the store to its own store location, 316 E. Main Street, about 4 doors down the street from the Nelson. Official opening date is May 1 and will give Downtown Johnson City another art destination and Artopia a street front presence. Good luck Becky. We'll do all we can to help your continued success.

P.A. Turner

I usually like to use this site to highlight the custom framing at Nelson Fine Art and Tree House Gallery, but this bears a post of it's own. We've handled P.A.'s work for several years. It tends toward "out there" status and is really fascinating work. If you are unfamiliar, follow this link and read her thoughts and see more of her work.

Customer Referrals!

Some businesses make customers out of friends. I'd like to think we make friends out of our customers. It makes for a pretty satisfying 18+ years that I've owned this gallery. And you know, we've made quite a few friends if I may say so. Every business owner has to balance his or her time between attracting new customers and maintaining the loyal returning folks. It is said that it costs less to keep a customer than to attract a new one. This post is dedicated to doing both. In reality, I don't know who (if anyone) reads this, but I'll present this idea anyway. If you refer a friend for custom framing, then we'll give them $10 off their framing and we'll give you the same break on your next framing. Of course, the key is your friend needs to tell us you referred them. We'll take care of the rest.

Brew Plum-coffee, tea, and atmosphere

About 5 years ago, my good friend, Duke, asked me if I'd ever thought about selling coffee inside Nelson Fine Art. My answer was, "about everyday." When he offered to lend me his coffee kiosk we were unsure what was ahead. Now, that little kiosk has evolved into a full line coffee bar. I'm really jumping the gun a little because it's yet to be evaluated by the Health Department, but construction-wise it's done. Brew Plum is the newest addition to the Nelson Fine Art Center. Kate Pierce with several years experience in the "coffee business," will be running the new endeavor. Until we are given the green light for the full line espresso drinks, Kate will be brewing and serving the richest coffees around. Some of the finest locally roasted (Maryville, that is), Vienna Coffee Company offers us the freshest, tastiest beans to be found. For the present, Brew Plum will be open 9 a.m. until 5, but Kate has plans to begin evening coffee times to include Mom's Knit Out, Poetry reads, writers groups, and book clubs. By the way, the sign above is a temporary one we made with our Wizard computerized mat cutter. The final product will be up soon.

Tree House Gallery is here!

We've moved Tree House Gallery into Nelson Fine Art! The Art Center is now a full service facility. In addition to the rotating exhibits and gallery spaces dedicated to individual artists, you will find Artopia Art Supplies, Brew Plum Coffee Bar and Tree House Gallery custom picture framing. By adding Tree House to the family of Art resources, we now have more frame and mat choices and more years in business than any other frame shop around. Tree House has been in operation since 1981 and Nelson's (formerly Lady Bug Gallery) since 1972. If you go to a frame shop and they show only have 200-300 frame samples, then they are limiting your choices and their own creativity. We have about 1500 frames to choose from and as many mat samples. Expect a lot from your framer's creativity.

It's worth what you pay for it

In a small town (like Johnson City, TN) the difference in price between one framer and another is pretty small. The key is to find someone you like and trust. From time to time we have a visitor who brings in something to "get a price" on. After we price framing, they either say, "I've got to go to the other places to get a price..." or "gee your price is a lot more/less than so-and-so." When you bring in your piece to be framed, we're going to give you our best creative advice based on information you give us. That may mean there will be a huge difference between what we suggest and what the next framer down the road gives you. If your only issue is price, then a white mat and a black metal frame is what we'll suggest. Don't expect our best suggestion if price is the only thing that matters. All that to say, you get what you pay for.

Framing sale....

SALE ENDED. Here is the newest installment of our blog framing sale! This is what you do... you bring in your item to be framed, leave it with us and go home. We pick out the framing and call you when it's complete. For your trust, we give you 30% off your order. Why would we do this? Well, we have around 10,000 feet of picture frame moulding in stock as well as hundreds of sheets of matboard. We will use inventory to do your framing. It's that simple. And don't worry, we'll call you with a price before we frame it. If you have control issues, this may be a little difficult for you, but keep in mind, owner, Dick Nelson has been framing for 18 years, Blair White has been here for 3 years, and Stacie Williams has been designing and framing for 5 years. Deadline for this sale is January 31. After that date, we'll take down this sale. Simply print out this blog post or mention it when you bring in your artwork.