Family, art go together at new Florence framing shop
Andrew Boardwine, Morning News
FLORENCE, S.C. — Art and family have always been two of the top priorities for Troy Cottrill. Now, he gets the opportunity to work with both simultaneously.
Cottrill’s Landmark Art joined ambassadors from the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce Wednesday to hold a ribbon cutting to celebrate the new store.
Cottrill’s Landmark Art, at 1308 Celebration Blvd., is a family-owned custom frame shop and art gallery. The shop has now been open for a week.
The shop offers “view it before you buy it” technology in which the customers can scan their art piece or photo into a software program that will then allow them to drag and drop different frames and maps, showing them the finished product before they order it.
“We are able to frame and mat very quickly and get it back to the customer in a timely manner,” Cottrill said. “It was very important for us that prices were lower than that of what you’d normally pay and we wanted to offer the very best.”
In addition to framing and matting, the gallery showcases artwork from six artists, five of whom are local and one who is from Paris, France. Cottrill said he can also order other art pieces that may not be displayed in the gallery.
Cottrill, who was raised in Ohio, has lived in South Carolina for 19 years. As an artist, he specializes in pencil drawings of historical sites and other vintage objects. Cottrill said the idea to open a frame shop came when he and his wife, Melissa, started looking into buying their own art printers and framing equipment to avoid paying high costs when looking to sell and showcase their art.
“It was always a dream of mine to open a gallery and it just kind of evolved from there,” Cottrill said. “We began framing and printing on our own and started to do it for many other artists, as well.”
“My wife has been very involved with art,” Cottrill said. “This is definitely going to be family ran. My 23-year-old son will be one of our main framers. My wife is very techy and installed the software that we use to show our customers their product before they buy it. Our youngest is 10 years old and she is already looking forward to working here someday, but she made it clear that she will require a hefty salary.”
The store will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, contact Cottrill’s Landmark Art at 843-799-0328, or visit its website at cotrillslandmarkart.com. They can also be reached via e-mail at cottrillslandmarkart@gmail.com.
SCNow.com
