As Mother’s Day, weddings and a number of other events approach during the spring and summer season, many people may be looking for the perfect gift to give to their family members and friends and that special little something just may be at Lyda’s Gallery of Gifts.
Lyda Beasley, 52, has opened an art gift gallery, which features a number of unique items created by Beasley and other local artists. On Saturday, May 4 at 10 a.m., the business, located at 410 Almon Road, will have a grand opening where the community can view a number of decorative trinkets and colorful paintings while enjoying refreshments.
Beasley has been working since September 2012 to get her gallery open to the public. The Newton County Board of Commissioners in December 2012 approved a conditional use permit for Beasley to operate her art studio within a detached garage at her home, and Beasley soon began to work on her gallery. She spent the last couple of months, with the help of her husband Robin, who constructs and creates artwork by carving, and other family members, painting and piecing together the facility into a small business, which will now open to the public.
Linda Sumner, who designs an assortment of jewelry from semi-precious stones and metals, and Beasley’s mom Mona Brown, who designs pillows and creates candles, are just a few of the artists who will have their creations for purchase in the gift shop.
“I’m hoping to have featured artists once a month,” Beasley said. “The artists who I have in here don’t necessarily have a studio; they are out doing festivals and they are putting their work in here.”
Beasley said she hopes her store will be the place people visit to purchase crafty and artistic gifts. She added that her shop gives artists the opportunity to display different artistic views, such as paintings on fabrics, and also explained what else the gallery would offer.
“There’s lots of reasonably priced gifts,” Beasley said. “We will be offering classes, too; they just need to call and sign up for what they like, it can be jewelry, it can be painting. I’m hoping to start a pottery class too. [I’m] going to have a sign-up sheet [at] the grand opening [for] anybody’s ideas [and] what they would like to do.”
Lyda’s Gallery of Gifts is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and by appointment. To make an appointment at the gallery or for more information about the gift gallery, contact Beasley at 770-365-5691 or by email at lydasgalleryofgifts@gmail.com.
