Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddy Bowles.
Hi Eddy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was a professional dancer for 17 years living in NYC when I met my now husband touring through Denver with a Broadway production. After dating long distance for 6 months we decided that moving to Denver was the best decision. I also made the decision to retire from my dance career as my body was starting to show signs of wear and tear that most dancers feel at the young age of 35. My partner and I brainstormed what my chapter B would look like. I have always been a creative and artistic person. My husband already had a photography studio and so we came up with the plan to open a custom framing shop to share the space with his photography studio. The Broadway Union, Actor’s Equity Association, has a program called Career Transitions for Dancers that help dancers exit the industry by providing scholarships, grants, and education as they transition out of a dance career. I was given a grant to take some custom framing courses in Long Island, NY. It was a terrifying feeling to start over completely, but I jumped in head first and opened the doors to The Corner Custom Framing August 1, 2011. Fifteen years later, I now have 7 employees to help run a very busy neighborhood custom framing shop in the Highlands neighborhood of Denver.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Is it ever a truly smooth road?! The first struggles came with building the confidence to run a business as someone who has always been more of a creative mind than a business mind. The city of Denver offered free business courses that I took to help build that confidence. There was a lot of tears and “fake-it-till-you-make-it” happening for the first couple years as I was brand new to framing and was doing all the framing on my own. There is nothing like be thrown to the wolves to figure things out. As the frame shop grew and became busier, the struggles really turned into how to manage a busy work flow by adding employees and expanding the workshop to accommodate the growth. It took a lot of time and energy to build a team that can work together to make things run smoothly.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Custom Framing is a very subjective art form and, to be honest, an expensive one as well. The Corner Custom Framing has worked hard to create an “experience” for the customer that would keep them coming back. From the time someone pulls into the parking lot, to when they pick up their finished work, we want them feel the “experience”. We not only provide quality custom framing, but great design as well in a space that feels creative and artistic. We take pride in providing customer service that sets us apart and give the customer confidence that they are willing to pay a little more for the experience and quality that they would at a big box store. We treat our customers like friends. in fact, many of them have become friends that I spend time with outside of the shop. I have found that people come back time and time again for that experience.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I have never viewed myself as lucky person, but rather someone who has had to work very hard to get to where I am now. I grew up on a dairy farm in a very rural part of Southeast Idaho. It took a lot of determination, resilience, and hard work to go from a little farmer boy to a Broadway stage. It was the same for starting over with a new career at the age of 35. Long hours and hard work were a huge factor in the success of the shop. I guess the “luck” that I had was meeting my husband who had already opened a business and was able to help support me emotionally as I left behind a career and identity as a successful professional dancer to transition to a new career as a small business owner.
Pricing:
- Custom framing is a very misunderstood industry. People are usually sticker shocked at the price, but there are so many elements that go into custom framing. With any custom product, labor is a huge cost. There are so many pieces of expensive equipment to make custom framing possible. Our mat cutter alone cost $18,000.00! I have watched frame shop after frame shop close because their pricing strategy was’t working. I even hired a frame shop consultant to work with me to create a successful pricing strategy for my shop.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thecornerframing.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecornercustomframing
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCornerframing
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-corner-custom-framing-denver
