It's Your Business: Arthur gallery to showcase area art
Looking for local art to display in your home or office?
You've got one more place to visit. A new gallery in downtown Arthur, Villa Galleries, 132 S. Vine St., will feature paintings, photographs and other work by artists who hail from central Illinois or artists whose work is about central Illinois.
The gallery opened last week in the former Shoes Too space.
The gallery is part of The Wood Loft. Owner George Fritz said artwork was displayed in the furniture store for years, but he wanted to showcase the art in its own space.
"As downtown business people, we've been trying to encourage artists to expand their showings in Arthur, to drive business to downtown Arthur. And with space available, we tried to make it happen," Fritz said.
Featured artists will include photographers Richard Herschberger and Mark Jones, watercolorist Janet Roney, plus Ron Bartanen with oils and watercolor originals, Vince Flamini with chalk originals and Karen Good with leaded glass.
The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Interested artists from the area or artists who feature central Illinois are welcome to contact Fritz about displaying their work. More information is available by contacting Villa Galleries at 543-2181 or info@villagalleries.com.
Business updates
The new Indian grocery store in Campustown opened recently. The owners have changed the name from Mirch Masala to Mirsung. The store, at 49-A E. Green St., C, is stocked with produce, spices, frozen meals and fresh bread.
Kessler Optical, the new eye clinic in downtown Champaign, opened last weekend. The office is on the ground floor of the Lincoln Building, 44 E. Main St.
Pipe Dreams Plus, 505 S. Neil St., C, opened last week in Royal Plaza's Suite 8. The shop carries cigarettes, pipes, loose tobacco, plus lingerie, body jewelry and magazines.
Basket biz
Chris Briggs, whose day job is in farmland management, has started a new gift-basket business called Five Ribbons. She will custom-create baskets for special occasions, such as graduations or anniversaries. Prices can range from about $5 to $75.
She can also take baskets to nursing home residents, people with extended hospital stays and others.
To contact Briggs, call her at 898-5721.
Attention, scrapbookers
Creek Bank Creations, a scrapbook store in Muncie, a town on U.S. 150 between Fithian and Oakwood, recently expanded its store hours. The shop is now open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays. The shop previously was open once a month on Saturdays. The store also is planning a scrapbooking garage sale on June 19 and 20.
More information is available by calling 548-2132 or visiting the shop's Web site at www.creekbankcreations.com.
New service at vet clinic
The University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital is now offering primary care service for pets.
The hospital opened the small-animal primary care service, which is run by Dr. Kandi Norrell, in May.
Primary care services include new puppy and kitten care, annual vaccinations and wellness examinations, treatment for minor injuries, preventive medicine, nutrition consultations, management of acute and chronic illnesses and medical conditions, plus geriatric pet care.
Appointments with Norrell, who offers evening and Saturday hours, are available by calling 265-5163.
Are you opening a new business or changing an existing business? Christine des Garennes can be reached by phone at 351-5388 or 800-252-3346; by e-mail at cgarenne@news-gazette.com; or by regular mail at The News-Gazette, c/o It's Your Business column, P.O. Box 677, Champaign, IL 61824-0677.
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- Obituaries