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A hometown frame, gift and art gallery shop known to Fort Worthians has endured for generations on the city’s west side for about 39 years.
Marty & Pat’s Frame Shoppe & Art Gallery, 5025 Camp Bowie Blvd., remains popular with customers after the retirement of founders Pat and Marty Cipolla six years ago.
The business, which has earned national awards in framing and matting, also offers an art gallery, a gift shop with works by local artists and photography services. Its framers are certified by the Professional Picture Framers Association.
Kari Breen, a Fort Worth-area pet photographer, has taken the reins as its new owner. If you visit this Bricks hub spot, expect to see two shop dogs — Maggie Mae and Ivy.
Contact information:
Address: 5025 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth
Phone: 817-738-7328
Website: https://martyandpats.com
The interview has been edited for length, grammar and clarity.
Eric Garcia: So tell me about your shop. What services do you provide?
Kari Breen: Besides the custom framing, we do custom mirrors. We work with a lot of designers. We do canvases, shadow boxes, a lot of silk scarfs, jerseys, paintings, anything you can think of. The lobby is all local art. We have a silk scarf artist. We have acrylic and oil painters. We have watercolor artists. We have a woodworker who does cutting boards and bowls. We have some jewelry and a lot of greeting cards. It’s all local art, which is fun. Pictures and frames and art all go very well together.
Garcia: How did you develop connections with local artists?
Breen: It’s a natural connection. People bring art in to be framed, so it’s kind of a natural synergy. I, personally, am the pet photographer in town. I do a lot of stock photography, doing street photography when I travel. I like to photograph the local street dogs if I’m in Greece or Italy. Marty & Pat’s used to sell my stuff.
Garcia: I saw your photography at karibreen.com. It looks like a fun job.
Breen: Yes, it definitely is. I’ve been the pet photographer for a little over 20 years. I’m on the board of Saving Hope Foundation. For every portrait session I sell, I give a photo session to the Saving Hope dogs. If a dog is in need of an adoption photo, they come here into the shop. Instead of a sad shelter photo to get them adopted, they get a quick portrait done and it helps them get adopted easier because people can see the warm and fuzzy side of them. We’re very animal friendly.
Garcia: Was it important for you to keep the original name of the shop?
Breen: One hundred percent. Marty & Pat’s, to me, is iconic in Fort Worth. They’ve been on the Bricks for 39 years this summer. I’ve always been very grateful for the foundation they’ve built. The team all remained, even though Marty and Pat wanted to retire. I was very grateful that the team wanted to stay, and I just wanted to honor the legacy and foundation that they built. I wanted to keep that since it is part of Fort Worth.
Garcia: Your store seems to stay pretty busy.
Breen: We are, we feel very blessed. There’s several frame shops on the Bricks, and it’s a fun art district. We have a good friendship and help each other out. We’re very fortunate that Fort Worth understands the difference with custom framing. We have a lot of repeat clients. They’re like family.
Garcia: Since the business has operated for 39 years, is that helpful with repeat customers?
Breen: We frame for a lot of people. As their family has grown, we frame their children’s portraits, and then we end up framing those children’s bridal portraits. Then those brides bring in their children’s portraits. We end up having all the generations come in here. We might have grandma and mom standing here with the new baby. We get to watch them all grow, and it’s very fun. Fort Worth supports its own. We try to give back to the community a lot.
Garcia: As Fort Worth keeps growing, what are your hopes for the business?
Breen: That’s a good question. … A lot of the same. We really love the direction it’s going. We hope to continue to take care of the people we already have. We get to meet new people every day. We’ve definitely seen the increase (in business), that’s for sure. We try to provide the same quality that we’ve always had.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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