WELLSVILLE: The Little Gallery is in a new place but the
mission is the same, support for the Hart Comfort House in Wellsville. Barb
Graves, owner of LaGra Salon and DaySpa started the Little Gallery in November
2015 in order to help a friend. Carol Riggs had a small shop in Cuba but she
took off a month to have surgery. The month turned into a year because the
surgery turned into a major struggle taking so much time that the business fell
away from Riggs but her inventory remained.
Barb
Graves knew, at the time, that the florist in her building was moving to a new
location so she had the idea to offer that space in friendship but needed more
to fill the area. She asked a member of Allegany Artisans for help and so
encouraged, moved forward. The florist was out on a Saturday and the Little
Gallery opened on Monday, nameless but determined to work out the details.
Formally,
it is The Little Gallery Arts and Antiques and now it has a front row presence
in the LaGra building. You still need to enter through LaGra but instead of
walking through the salon, just pass the desk and turn right. The
doorway there once led to Curves then became a pop up shop but now it’s The
Little Gallery, Wellsville’s giving place for Christmas.
For all
3 years of this enterprise, Graves has asked for nothing from those selling in
her store. She covers the total cost of the area, the utilities and advertising
and asks only that a portion of each sale to be donated to the Hart Comfort
House. If you do some of your Christmas
shopping there, you can make the total donations made by vendors pass $4000 by
the end of this year.
Rather
than listing vendors by name, let me say that you know many of them as Allegany
Artisans, Wellsville Art Association members or from their work with the
Allegany Arts Association. You’ll find all the names at the store so let’s
focus on items. For your home or to gift there are hand-woven kitchen towels, hand
sewn dolls or table runners, fabric bowls or wall hangings and handmade pottery
and hand painted glassware.
Personal
adornments include fabric purses and leggings or hand-woven scarves, hand
assembled jewelry as well as totally handcrafted upcycled jewelry or the last
of a group of handmade plastic pins (you’ve smiled when noticing them on people). There are ornate, fabric purses and a small collection of music boxes. On the walls are framed photographs and
original watercolors or oils or prints of other original paintings or maybe a
few things handcrafted anonymously ages ago.
A beekeeper
brings in honey and related products and there is another person who makes
soaps and lotions and balms. What else? Antiques. There are some people who
have bought and sold antiques but others who have bought and bought now in need
of emptying their homes so offer antiques from cast bronze to hand painted
china or toys and hand-blown glass. Occasionally there is furniture and right now
there is a lamp with a handcrafted shade and a large cupboard as well as some
smaller wooden items.
There
are also items that were purchased for Carol Riggs’ little store in Cuba, the
inventory that started the whole idea. The merchandise range is wide and worth
a look. The Little Gallery is only open when LaGra Salon is open and that is
Tuesday through Saturday opening at 9 am but sometimes sooner. The shop is open
till 8 on Thursday but only till 4 on Saturday and till 5 on other days.
Are you
wondering about what will happen to the space behind the salon? Barb Graves, a
woman of ideas, will be doing some work to make a large and comfortable
gathering area so that wedding parties can eat breakfast and talk as they all
get hair and makeup done on that special day.
Reach
LaGra Salon at 585-59301321 or go in person to 21 East State Street in Wellsville.
You might check www.lovelagra.com . The
Little Gallery is present on the website or a facebook.com/ TheLittleGalleryArtsandAntiques.
Shop
Small. Shop Local. Shop to support The Hart Comfort House.
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| Earrings by Elaine Hardman |
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