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carmen's solomons
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carmen's nola Now, sadly, closed. Please call our Maryland gallery for any of your art needs. We'll offer you wonderful assistance and helpful advice adn....we ship anywhere!! Thank you for your support of our efforts over the last 2 years in New Orleans. ! |
I have often been asked how I started my business, and I generally answer that I got tired of working for other people, I didn't like my job, etc. Those things are true. However there's another part to the story that I would like to share with you now.
One of the most special people in my life to this point was my grandfather. Sometimes two people just bond, and that's the way it was with us. To meet him, you might have thought him just a North Carolina farmer, but to know him was to see how sensitive, caring, and special he really was. I grew up living in "the little house" behind his home for the first 6 years of my life and then moved about a mile away until I left for college. He would pick me up for church every Sunday and let me play his 8 track tapes. When I needed him to get down on the floor and give me a pony ride, he was there. He gave me Juicy Fruit Gum on command and was the only person who would let me drink coffee with milk (or milk with coffee) and act like a grown up before I became one. When I started teaching school, I remember him driving 60 miles in order to help me take my class to the circus and afterward deliver kids all over Durham in the middle of the night. He died of cancer 25 years ago and although it really hurt me, nothing was left unsaid between us, so I dealt with it. After he died, my mother told me that he had worked his whole life with the dream of saving enough money to be able to leave each of his 7 grandchildren $1000. She presented me with mine. I knew that I wanted to do something very special and important with that money and not just squander it on something without meaning, so I started my framing business. It was very small at first, but has grown considerably, and now I feel that my grandpa would be happy with what I've done. So, you see, when I say your business is important to me, I really do mean it. To me, it's more than my business. It's my grandfather's legacy.
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Shown at left is
Webster...just
fooling about him being our pet. He's just the youngest future
Parrothead around at only one month old. Webster lost his siblings
and mother, so he's being bottle fed. It's going to take him a
while to grow into that collar that Carmen brought him from
Margaritaville in New Orleans. Future gallery kitty, maybe???? |
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Here's Buckaroo
--our real gallery cat. He's been recuperating from IBS, so yogurt
is his food of choice....hand fed, of course!
Artsy Buckaroo loves to lie in front of the gallery and bring in customers. Please help him do his job! |
Check out gallery girls Carmen and Bella...shown
here celebrating their May 26 birthdays at the gallery. It comes too often
these days! Watch out! (If you know anything about
astrology, it's getting pretty crowded around here!)
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| We're extremely proud of our gallery staff. Everyone is united on both a professional and personal level, and seem quite like a chosen family. Laura Howard is our gallery manger in Solomons and Jason Snyder is our resident artist who is also our custom picture framer. Laura makes lovely jewelry in her off hours, which we proudly sell in the gallery. What a talented group we've put together. When we need even more help and support, we call on Sylvia Koskey. She comes to Solomons to allow us to have a day or two off once in a while. ...see the "Newsletter" section for more details on these great gallery additions! |
Critters.......The only critters you'll find at carmen's now are kitties! Isabella and Buckaroo own the place. We lost JoeBob, our favorite green iguana to kidney dysfunction. Bella's won everyone's heart and even though it's a bit more quiet now, it's still never boring - especially
with Buckaroo around.
You'll probably find him greeting you on the front walk. Come by and give them a scratch....they love people!
In the art pond....We had a little pond disaster, but we're trying to build up the population again. Any contributions will be appreciated. We lost our koi to a chlorine overdose, but we still have our turtle and Francine the frog. Francine was a gift from gallery patrons Janis and Dennis King. We have some new minnows and, of course, the ducks who think our swimming pool was filled just for them!
 | If paws could hammer!!! Buckaroo spends much of his time in the frame shop as Jason Snyder's able assistant. "Roo Roo" hasn't earned his certification yet, but all of our framers have special skills! |
Baltimore and vicinity:
- Take Rt. 695 toward Rt. 97 South
- Follow Rt. 97 South to Rt. 3 South
note: Rt. 3 becomes Rt. 301 South - Follow Rt. 301 to the ramp for Rt. 4 South to Solomons
- Rt. 4 eventually joins with Rt. 2, and becomes Rt. 2/4 South
- Follow Rt. 2 into Solomons (turns at the base of Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge)
note: Rt. 4 continues across the bridge, Rt. 2 turns under the bridge - carmen's gallery is on the left, about 3/4 mile
Richmond and south:
- Take I-95 North to Rt. 301 North
- Follow across Governor Nice Memorial Bridge into Maryland
- Continue on Rt. 301 North to a right onto Rt. 234
- From Rt. 234 take a right onto Rt. 5
- Follow through Leonardtown and take a left onto Rt. 4
- Cross over Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge and take the first right off of the bridge
- Take an immediate right onto Rt. 2 South. This heads into Solomons
- carmen's gallery is on the left, about 3/4 mile
From Washington Beltway, Suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia:
- Take Exit 11A (Rt. 4 South) to Solomons
- Rt. 4 eventually joins with Rt. 2, and becomes Rt. 2/4 South
- Follow Rt. 2 into Solomons (turns at the base of Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge)
note: Rt. 4 continues across the bridge, Rt. 2 turns under the bridge - carmen's gallery is on the left, about 3/4 mile
