You’ve probably visited or at least
spotted the Coastal Frameshop and Gallery on the service road at Route
One between Outback and the Renegade. Opened just last summer, the
gallery has a delightful collection by local artists, has been the scene
of several art shows and receptions, and has been a popular resource for
custom framing.
But what has been less obvious but more
astonishing has been the story of friendship, partnership and
inspiration surrounding the recent sale of the gallery.
Partners Lee Wayne Mills and Don
Gardiner, together for 31 years and both with abundant experience in the
art world, are delightfully surprised to be gallery owners here in
Rehoboth. Don, a retired banker who also worked as a professional actor
and set designer and Lee, an accomplished artist and arts administrator,
had always talked of owning a gallery “someday,” but someday seemed
far off.
Since the couple moved to Rehoboth three
years ago, Don had been enjoying his retirement, working a few hours for
a local craft gallery. Meanwhile, Lee worked as the Gallery Associate
for the Rehoboth Art League while painting and assembling his signature
mixed-media collages for several successful local showings.
When their close friends of over a
decade, Robert Gold and Larry Hooker opened the Coastal Gallery last
June, Lee and Don were two of their biggest cheerleaders.
After a successful first summer, the
gallery cruised into fall, with Robert concentrating on unique and
elegant custom framing while Larry, a CPA by profession, was delighted
to learn that he had a knack for selling fine art. The combination
worked beautifully and the gallery really took off.
By fall, however, there was trouble.
Robert, a long-term cancer survivor, who had undergone two brain
operations, one in 1988 and one in 2000 was having recurring symptoms.
In early November, the doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital decided to
operate. That’s when the couple was plunged into a four-month
nightmare.
While doctors believed the operation had
gone very well, for some reason Robert was not getting better. He
remained in and out of wakefulness and intensive care for weeks, with
Larry, his partner of almost 30 years at his side day and night. With a
room nearby arranged by the hospital, Larry spent every possible
visiting hour standing by Robert’s bed, talking to him, trying to get
him to speak, and working with him to regain even the most basic motor
skills.
After many weeks of constant nursing
care, surgeries to reduce fluid build-up, and unwavering attention from
Larry, Robert was medically well enough to be transferred to Milford
Hospital for rehabilitation. There he had to relearn how to eat, walk
and coax his memory back into action.
After a week or two of therapy, Robert
developed Meningitis and had to return to Hopkins for acute care. The
dangerous situation slowly improved, but it wasn’t until almost
Christmas that Robert was able to return to Milford to start re-hab for
real.
Meanwhile, back at the Gallery, a cadre
of generous friends, including local photographer Roy Boucher, framer
Cathin Bishop, Carol and Tony Boyd-Heron from Peninsula Gallery in Lewes
and, of course, Lee and Don had been pitching in throughout November and
December to keep the gallery open and operating. On the home front, help
from the community came as casseroles and lasagnas for Larry, and
friends assisting with errands.
“While we were helping at the Gallery,
I realized how much I enjoyed it, but being a gallery owner was still
just a fantasy,” Lee recalls.
Up in Milford, the going was pretty slow.
Robert had friends drop by and day-long visits from his Schnauzer Mitzi,
but he still wasn’t sure where he was, what time of year it was, or
exactly what he’d been through.
Over time however, the therapists, the
stream of visitors and Larry’s relentless attention—quizzing Robert
on dates, places and facts—slowly began to do the trick. Before long
Robert was answering the phone, able to identify every celebrity on
Entertainment Tonight and thinking about coming home. With hard work and
perseverance, as his therapy progressed, Robert got out of bed and into
a wheelchair. By Dec. 31, Robert and Larry and friends celebrated New
Year’s Eve at 6:30 p.m. (midnight Paris time) with champagne and paté.
By the end of January, with Robert pacing the halls at Milford Hospital
on a walker, and getting steadier every day, he was well enough to come
home.
Within days of his homecoming, he was
already walking unassisted and, to everyone’s delight and amazement,
fast approaching a complete recovery from the debilitating after-effects
of the surgery.
But what about getting back to work and
back to business? Throughout January and February the all-volunteer
Gallery brigade kept working with Larry to keep the place open. Larry
even drove Robert to the shop from time to time so he could help pick
out mats and frames for his regular customers.
While he was up to the aesthetic tasks,
it would be a long time before doctors approved of Robert spending long
days up on his feet and doing the hard manual work of framing. After
much discussion and with conflicted feelings, Larry and Robert
reluctantly made the decision to put the gallery on the market.
Meanwhile, Lee and Don were enjoying
pinch hitting as gallery workers. In fact, they loved it. When Larry
mentioned the decision to sell, Lee and Don unexpectedly had a decision
to make.
“All of a sudden, the fantasy became a
possibility, “ says Lee. “What really made it click for me was
seeing how excited Don was about it.”
It was a perfect match. The four friends
worked out the details and the Coastal Frameshop and Gallery officially
changed hands, seamlessly, in mid-March.
“It was a bittersweet time,” Larry
says, “because we loved the business, even though we realized it was
the right decision for us to sell it. But it’s great to be able to
turn it over to people who we know will do well and enjoy it as much as
we did.”
Lee and Don held their first opening on
March 22, with a Still Life show that offered the work of several local
artists and a reception/celebration that brought together gallery
customers and friends of the two couples. With flowing wine and toasts
to both the gallery’s new proprietors and Robert’s remarkable
recovery, it was some party.
Lee and Don showed off the artwork and
the enormous selection of custom frames; Larry, now a volunteer, pointed
out his favorite paintings and encouraged customers’ interest; and
Robert mingled with customers and friends, delighted to be back in the
midst of the action.
As for upcoming plans for exhibits and
openings, there are many. In addition to showcasing some of the very
well known local artists, Lee promises some creatively themed exhibits.
“Don’s interest in the nuts and bolts of the business will free me
up to put together some adventuresome shows for the future,” says Lee.
“I realize how supportive the area community is and how a very small
organization can be successful on many levels. It’s really exciting
for us.”
Meanwhile, Don’s officially out of
retirement, Lee’s enjoying his new entrepreneurship, Larry continues
his CPA business and Robert is getting used to having plenty of leisure
time.
At the Coastal Frameshop and Gallery, the
team captains and the cheerleaders may have traded places, but
everybody’s a winner.
Coastal Frameshop and Gallery is located
at 4284 Highway One. Call 302-227-8704 for more information.
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