Art Creations, an art and custom frame business that has operated in the Chattanooga area for more than a half century, will close its shop on the North Shore next month.
Linda Moss Mines, whose late husband Tony Mines started the business in 1973, said Art Creations has begun a clearance sale and plans to shut down by March 15. The framing and art supply business once had five shops around the Chattanooga area and continues to be one of the oldest and largest family-owned framing businesses in the region.
"It's bittersweet, but we feel like this is the right time after a good run for a long time," Linda Mines said in an interview at the Frazier Avenue storefront.
When Tony Mines became sick with acute myeloid leukemia before he ultimately died in 2019, his daughter Jessica Dumitru left her legal practice and stepped in to manage the family-owned business along with her brother, Jason. Dumitru has continued to work with her brother and mother to keep Art Creations going but has decided to return to her legal career full-time.
"We have decided to close the business so my daughter can return to her love, criminal prosecution," said Linda Mines, who married Tony Mines in 1978 and has worked while teaching. "I had been encouraging this move, but she wanted to make the 50th anniversary celebration, which occurred last July and we had a wonderful event."
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Dumitru, who previously worked as an attorney for eight years before setting aside her legal practice for nearly eight years to help with her father's business and the raising of her young children, started a new job last week as a juvenile prosecutor in the Hamilton County Juvenile Court.
"Dad always dreamed that Art Creations would get to 50 years, so last year with the anniversary, we went all out to mark the occasion and celebrate my father," Dumitru said in an interview. "Over the past few months, things have worked out in our lives, so I felt like it was time to make this change."
Jason Mines, who began making frames at his father's shop when he was a child, has worked in the business most of his life and will continue to manage the commercial block on Frazier Avenue that houses Art Creations, along with the Taco Nooga restaurant, the Walnut Bridge gift shop and several second-floor offices.
As a youth, Tony Mines had worked in the same building when it housed the Little Art Shop, owned by George Little. Mines, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, started Art Creations in 1973 with only $2,300 in a small shop near the East Ridge fire hall. Over the past five decades, the business has grown by selling both art supplies and personalized picture frames.
"Those of us working with customers on the floor are all experienced artists, and Tony and his family have always provided very personalized service," said Kris Scott, a store manager who has worked at Art Creations for 22 years.
In 2011, Art Creations added another store near Hamilton Place at 7351 Commons Blvd. that featured a variety of home décor items, an expanded line of fine and graphic art supplies and a variety of art classes. Art Creations also had other stores at the Four Squares shopping center on Highway 58, at Lee Highway and Highway 153 and even franchised the brand to another family in North Georgia.
The other stores were ultimately consolidated into the remaining and biggest Art Creations store on Frazier Avenue, Linda Mines said. But the storefront at 201 Frazier Ave. has been the headquarters for the business for more than 25 years. Mines bought the storefront in 1982 and named the building the Little Building in honor of his former employer and mentor.
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Mines bought the building four years after the Walnut Street bridge was shut down to vehicle traffic but before the bridge was reopened as a pedestrian bridge, which helped spur the redevelopment of Frazier Avenue.
"Tony saw the potential for Frazier Avenue and knew he wanted to be located here," Linda Mines recalled. "There have been ups and downs, but this area still has a great location and a lot of appeal so we're confident in the future of this block."
Art Creations will be the third retailer along Frazier Avenue to close in just eight months. The women's boutique clothing store River City Apparel closed at the end of 2023 after more than 25 years. Last summer, Back Street Betty's closed after operating on Frazier Avenue for seven years.
Art Creations is located next to the Walnut Bridge Gift Shop, which was struck last November by a driver charged with driving under the influence and reckless endangerment. The crash killed two pedestrians -- a mother and her child -- who were standing on the sidewalk in front of the shop.
After the crash, the city permanently reduced Frazier's speed limit to 25 mph and enforced a temporary traffic pattern -- one outside lane either way with the center two lanes coned off. A group of merchants on Frazier Avenue have opposed the lane closures and voiced concerns about vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the area.
Despite the traffic tragedy and recent store closings, Linda Mines said the North Shore venue remains a strong business magnet.
Art Creations is opening Tuesday through Saturday over the next several weeks and each Monday the store will post its sale items for the coming week through mid March, Linda Mines said.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.