PRINTA flourishing business
Artist offers one-stop shop for frames, art and orchids
Ben Dillon
Kelly Coalier works on a frame for a customer’s Star Wars poster. He sells his original artwork in limited edition prints; a small print is $25 and a large print is $35.
June 12, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Local artist Kelly Coalier has a shop full of orchids and 70 to 80 plants in his home. Oddly enough, he has never painted an orchid. Combining his trade of framing with his wife’s green thumb, Coalier owns Orchids & Art, a gallery and flower shop located at 10 W. Nifong Blvd.
Coalier’s artwork includes anything from road signs to abstract rocks he’s spotted in his travels. “I’ve framed for so long that I’ve seen everything people have tried to do, and I just don’t paint any of that,” Coalier says. “I stay away from flowers, sunsets, cats and dogs.”
Coalier and his wife get their orchids from Hawaii and sell them for $20-35. They ...
A framer for 22 years, Coalier says he’s changed the way he looks at people’s art because he sees what changes and what sells. Coalier counts on framing to bring in most of his business’ revenue. “A framer should be an artist,” says L.G. Patterson, a local photographer who trusts Coalier to frame his photos. “Those who are do it better. They tend to think outside of the box.”
Coalier gets bored easily and is always working on several projects at once. From loose-styled paintings to charcoal, oil pastel and watercolor pencil drawings, most of Coalier’s work is centered on his Route 66 travels. He describes his creations as taking an animated style and applying it to real places and things. “My artwork tends to appeal to younger people, and they don’t have any money,” Coalier says. “I’m hoping maybe in 20 or 30 years, younger people who are older will still have similar tastes, and I might be able to sell more.”
Although other popular local artists such as David Spear and Paul Jackson have work on display, the gallery sells little art. “It’s really hard to run an art gallery and make any money at it,” Coalier says. “There is a lot of artwork here and lots of really great artists. It’s just the economics of selling artwork is really hard.”
With his busiest times of year being the flower-showered holidays, including Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, Coalier says that the low-maintenance and long shelf life of orchids makes them a convenient addition to his business. Coalier acknowledges that sometimes the orchids stand in the way of the artwork for many potential buyers. “Most people don’t pay attention to anything that’s on the walls,” Coalier says. “They’re just looking at the plants.”
Coalier’s approach to framing and art gives other artists, photographers and the community a daring framer who knows what works. His unique style comes across in his own art. “If I were going to make money, I wouldn’t paint or draw anything that I paint or draw,” Coalier says. “It would be something completely different.”
