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FRAME AND ART CENTER OF LAS CRUCES

Local couple takes over 40-year old framing, art supply shop

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The Frame and Art Center of Las Cruces has been operating and supporting the local arts community since 1980, but in June 2019, longtime owner Ron Saltzman sold it to two of his best employees, Branda and Ean Nevue.

Working alongside their three fulltime employees and a student apprentice, the Nevues provide quality framing for virtually anything, along with a full range of art supplies for sale.

“Framing and art supplies are our specialty,” Brenda Nevue said. “The Frame and Art Center has always been a locally owned business that sells quality custom frames in all sizes, assorted colors and styles from real wood to metal. We also provide custom matting with unique designs. In addition to framing, we are also the largest dedicated art supply store in southern New Mexico, and if we don’t carry it, we will order it. “

Prior to buying the business, Brenda Nevue said she had been employed there for 13 years, and Ean had been there for 18 years, so when the time came, they felt strongly that they knew the business well enough to take the plunge and negotiate the purchase. She said the transition was seamless.

Then came COVID-19, and there have been temporary closures out of an abundance of caution when an employee or an employee’s family member reported possible exposure to the virus. Through it all, the Nevues have adapted as best they can, taking things day-by-day.

“The safety of our customers and our employees is of the utmost importance to us,” she said. “We’ve had two closures because of live-in family members of our employees being potentially exposed at their places of employment.”

Other than navigating the intermittent closures, Brenda Nevue said some common-sense precautionary measures have been implemented to help business tick along as smoothly and safely as possible.

“Our adaptation to the COVID world doesn’t much affect how business is conducted, other than wearing masks and sanitizing. For us and our employees, we set up individual caddies for each station. They’re all color coded, so if you set something down, you know what supplies are yours, all the way from your tape measure down to your pencil. For the tools we have to share, everyone is supplied with hand sanitizer. We also purchased a new phone system, so that everyone who answers the phone has their own handset.”

She said one overarching value of the business mindset is providing quality service and products while also supporting the Las Cruces arts community.

“We are a family-owned and -operated business,” Brenda Nevue said. “We support the arts in our community. One example being, after we purchased the store, we opened up our walls to artists for shows with a very low commission rate. It’s about helping artists for us. We aren’t a gallery that depends on the commission as our main source of income, so we wanted to give back to the artists who have supported us all these years, and we look forward to being able to host receptions again.”

In addition to their phone number (575-526-2808), Brenda Nevue said she welcomes emails at Brenda@FrameAndArt.com, and she invites current and potential customers to follow the Frame and Art Center on both Facebook and Instagram (Frame & Art Center).

Frame and Art Center, Branda Nevue, Ean Nevue

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