At Accent Picture Framing on the Post Road, there's more works of art looking for frames than empty shells looking for filler. That's because Accent's owners, Tom and Anna Geary, use much of the shop's space as overflow for the rest of their building's first floor: The Geary Gallery.
One reason the Geary Gallery is so strapped for space is because of its fame. Part of Darien's art scene for 25 years, the gallery doesn't have to look for artists. "Having such a great space, artists come to us," Tom says.
A case in point is the work of A.D. Blake. Although the rest of the Gearys' featured artists are from New England, the New Zealand painter reached out to them to host his first American show. "He decided he wanted to come to the U.S.," Tom says. "And they told him Darien was the place to do it."
The Gearys' bread and butter are paintings, but the gallery hosts other types of art as well. There's handmade jewelry, sculpture and pottery crafted by the owners' niece, Anne Geary. And some of the gallery's prize pieces are done by Kevin Kerrigan masterfully carved duck decoys. "A lot of people don't recognize that as art," Tom says. "But it is, there's no question about it."
Tom said the recession has affected their business greatly. Artwork and professional framing are luxury items. When many local families' budgets tightened, so did their customer flow.
But Tom and Anna are confident they'll survive, in no small part because of their personal touch. Tom credits his childhood job as a paperboy for his ability to remember his clients' names and faces.
"If you have a customer that recommends you to someone else, you can't pay for that," Tom says. "It's priceless."
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