October 17th, 2007
Building a business, brick by brick: Des Moines, Iowa-based Tamdem Brick Gallery blends art, framing and a sense of community - Business profile: Tandem Brick Gallery
Kathie Anderson needed some light in her life. After a year working as a custom framer in a gray, windowless basement workshop, in 1977, she opened her own business–Tandem Brick Gallery–in all old, brick building with plenty of windows and lots of light.
The frame shop and art gallery got an immediate jump start with its first customer, Ducks Unlimited, and received an additional shot in the arm framing wildlife reproductions for a local gun shop just up the street. For the next few years, Anderson did a steady business selling artwork and framing prints of duck, pheasant and hunting stamps.
In the early 1980s, it seemed that wildlife galleries were cropping up all over Des Moines, Anderson recalled. But, as the 1990s approached, she began changing her focus. While Tandem Brick continued to frame stitcheries, wildlife prints, maps and photos, Anderson’s attention began to turn toward museum-quality framing.
“When we became the framers for a well-established gallery in downtown Des Moines, we felt we had arrived,” Anderson said. Soon after, Tandem Brick began framing that gallery’s works by Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenburg, Grant Wood, Alexander Calder and Mauricio Lasansky.
The new account was important because the gallery began recommending Tandem Brick to its customers. And it wasn’t long before business began to boom. Saturdays saw an influx of customers with personal frame orders, and the frame shop soon became a meeting place where everyone seemed to know each other.
“Never underestimate word-of-mouth advertising,” Anderson said. “We were definitely making a place in the art community.”
But Anderson’s ride has not always been smooth. In the wake of the Mississippi River floods of 1993, framing was the last thing people in Des Moines had on their minds–nor was it a hot topic following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. During the tough times, Anderson simply cut back on stock–and waited.
Taking a Detour
Nine years ago, Anderson’s landlord announced he was retiring and asked if she was interested in the space once occupied by former barbershop, located two doors down from the gallery.
Indeed, she was. Over the years, Tandem Brick had begun carrying a wide variety of merchandise, including furniture, lighting and other home decorating items. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to separate this merchandise from her frame shop and gallery, Anderson accepted the space and opened Tandem Two Doors Down.
Last fall, Anderson renovated Two Doors Down, renamed it Detour, and increased its eclectic stock of hip furniture, lamps and various oddities to pique the interest of the city’s younger, more upscale clientele.
Reaching Out
Individual orders account for about 50 percent of Anderson’s business. When working with designers and businesses, she finds that offering discounts on frames and mouldings has helped because, “You have to be competitive with large orders.”
Anderson doesn’t shy away from approaching local businesses herself. In fact, she often picks out artwork and puts together presentation hoards for them.
When supplying large framing orders to businesses, such as hotels, insurance companies and restaurants, Anderson tries to combine museum quality with quantity by purchasing factory-framed pieces.
Establishing Confidence
Anderson believes the reason her frame shop works is because she pays attention to her customers’ needs.
“Our customers feel that they are a part of our business. They are the reason we have been here for 27 years,” she said. “Tandem Brick’s orders are taken only by experienced framers so that customers have confidence that their artwork will be in good hands.”
Doing the job right means Tandem Brick has few returns, Anderson said. “When our customers are happy with the finished product, not only will they come back, but they will tell others.”
Securing her place in the Des Moines community has led Anderson to take an interest in matters outside of Tandem Brick. She is on the board of a local business association that is working with the city council on proposals for the beautification of the Ingersoll neighborhood, where Tandem Brick Gallery is located.
Des Moines is a great place to own a frame shop, Anderson said, since many of its residents choose to support local businesses. She attributes the city’s demand for fine custom framing to its supportive arts scene, which is bolstered by three universities with excellent art programs, corporations with extensive art collections, a well-endowed public art center and a huge summer arts festival.
Making It Personal
Phillip Lasansky, son of well-known Argentinian artist Mauricio Lasansky and brother of artist Tomas Lasansky, has been coming to Tandem Brick for two years.
“Not only is [Anderson] highly skilled and top-shelf when it comes to the technical aspects of framing, but she’s very personal in the way she relates with customers, first-time or otherwise,” said Lasansky, president and art director of Lasansky Corp.