The Selma Times-Journal

In what was once a rowdy oyster bar on Water Avenue,

Laura Grossman has opened The Frame Shoppe,

a peaceful workshop where Grossman makes custom fine art

frames from scratch.

She chops

and builds the frames and cuts the mats and glass herself.

She has big plans for both her business and for Selma’s riverfront district. “Downtown has a potential for growth,” Grossman said. “If we have one person keep a business down here and then another and another, pretty soon there will be

a nice little area again where people can walk the streets.”

Grossman was born in

Miami but grew up in Hawaii

where she studied interior design. She then worked at and managed the leading frame shop in the Hawaiian Islands.

Grossman’s vision for The Frame Shoppe isn’t what one would expect of a framing business.

“We are trying to introduce a tea shop within The Frame Shoppe where people can sit and drink tea and coffee and listen to jazz and classical music,” she said.

Grossman also plans to have art exhibits featuring local talent, hosting “class act” openings with live music, wine and hors’ deuvres.

Currently, there are paintings for sale by Frank Hardy and stained glass by John Hogarth.

Jesse Swanson is staff photographer for The Selma Times-Journal.