Skip to main content

Allegory Gallery—The Beginning

I though that for this entry, I'd try more pictures…many more pictures.  Many of you who follow us now may not have been around for the beginning of Allegory Gallery.  It's amazing to see how much we've accomplished since that first official day on September 15, 2011.  We were a very small store with big dreams…and our dreams have only continued and continued to grow—mostly because of your belief in us, and your support of us.  Thank you.  And without further ado, the photos.

Allegory Gallery—First Location—Working to get it ready

Painting, Painting, Painting! (Don't let me in the picture fool
you…Andrew did most of the painting!)

Lots of Painting!

We are lucky to have family willing to pitch in whenever they can! This
is my mom, aunt, and brother helping to build our first art wall.

More art wall work.  
Sawing the edging.

Finishing up the art wall

Our Grand Opening…we were small, but we felt very
welcomed in town. This was our first seed bead display
(now it takes up an entire wall!) 
More Grand Opening displays—Our first Czech glass display!

Our very first customers and guests! (And more Czech glass in the background)

We had a blast that day!! (But we didn't have time to get the art show up!) 
Great friends who came to support us from the
very beginning!

Great friends who came to support us from the very beginning!
Great friends who came to support us from the very beginning!

Our first window in construction!

Our very first art show!  September 17th, 2011

Jane West during our second art show opening
(November 18th, 2011).  She's been a local friend
from the beginning!
Our first Candice Wakumoto display!
Maria Richmond has been with us from the very beginning,
too (December 13, 2011)
Maria teaching another class—December 18, 2011 
Our first holiday window in progress…Some in town didn't think
it was all that funny!

Well, it's not a large post tonight, but I hope that gives you some idea of where we've come from.  From a store that had only a few corners filled, to a store where we have no idea where to put anything anymore!  We've done a lot in the time that we've been around, and we look forward to doing much more!  Perhaps I'll do a review of the next few years over the next few days.  It's really great looking through all these "old" photos…

Thank you again for reading :-)

Comments

  1. Neither of those windows last very long lol. I like the hands one a lot, actually. There was something so minimal and stark about it…compared to all the craziness that was happening behind the scenes to make things happen. And the In Progress window was hilarious. I loved that (and if it were all up to me, it probably would have stayed a bit longer than it did lol). But, we didn't want to push too hard too fast!

    ReplyDelete
  2. In some ways, it feels like that's so long ago. In other ways, it seems like it was just yesterday. I laugh when I look at the pictures. We started out with what some would consider a shoestring budget and people telling us that the economy was bad and not to do it. And we had a lot of cool stuff, but everything was hidden away in drawers! I remember how stressed out and exhausted I was in the beginning. But everything worked out and I couldn't be more happy. We've built our lives together here in Ligonier, one bead at a time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fortune favors the brave - that comes to mind reading Allegory Gallery's origin story. I loved visiting your enchanting store last year and look forward to seeing where 2016 takes you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My First Entry

Hello All, This is, hopefully, the start to my blogging life!  You see, my partner, Andrew ( andrew-thornton.blogspot.com ) is doing a 30-day artistic challenge.  So, since blogging is something that I think may be useful to me, I figured I'd take the time to try a 30-day blogging exercise.  I'm expecting my friends to hold me accountable for the next 30 days, too! I'm not sure what this first entry should be about really, so let me just tell you a bit about myself. I was born in a small town in Pennsylvania.  I really grew up in a wonderful place for kids.  We didn't have many neighbors around, but my brother and I really had a lot of open spaces and even a lake (very large pond) in our backyard at our disposal.  I mostly remember good things about my childhood.  For the most part, I liked school.  I liked learning (and still do).  I grew up thinking that I was going to be a lot of things in life.  I first wanted to be a Chef (my,...

Defining Objects

I once read a GQ article as a youngster that talked about defining objects.  It was an article that really hit home at the time that I read it, and one that, to this day, still makes so much sense to me.  I wish I still had the article, or even knew where I could find it.  Believe me, I've tried.  But, the point of the article was that for many of us, we bring ourselves close to things that define us.  That is, things that show the world who and what we are.  The article concluded by giving an example of the author standing in line behind a gentleman whose suit was tattered and appeared that he had a fairly hard life up until this point.  But, as the author looked over this gentleman, his glance came upon his shoes.  They were immaculate.  Brown leather.  Wingtips.  Polished and well taken care of.  This was one of the things that this gentleman held on to and kept up to show the world who he really was.  He was sophistica...

It's Not Just a Store…

Good Evening Everyone! It's been a busy weekend.  I hope that everyone is enjoying Valentine's Day.  Andrew and I are postponing our Valentine's Day until Tuesday when we're going to a concert in Pittsburgh.  Nonetheless, I hope your day was special.  I think no matter what, it's a good time to remember to love yourself and to love those around you.  I celebrated many of these days without a significant other.  And with or without, it's really just about love…everywhere. Anyway, back to the title of my post.  It's been a busy weekend.  We're always busy doing things, but with Andrew's 30-Day Creative heART Challenge , I've been filling in at the store seven days a week instead of the normal six.  And, he's been so into this challenge that I rarely see him even emerge from his studio room.  There are a lot of great things happening.  So, it's been nonstop for us both. Also, we're taking the time to totally renovate our online s...