Wallpaper Gallery

Owner: Dawn Owens

Address: 812 N. Thompson St., Suite 12 Mathias Plaza, Springdale 72764

Telephone: 750-2527

Hours: Weekdays 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Start-Up: November 1996

After working commercial and residential contracting for a number of years, Wallpaper Gallery owner Dawn Owens opened her business in order to reach more builders and home owners.

The Wallpaper Gallery carries several books of paper design, hanging prints and its own frame shop. All the custom framing is done by Jennifer Phillips, Owens says. The gallery also provides in-home consultations.

Owens started wallpapering as an independent contractor, working off and on for six years, “but nothing steady.” She said she was papering a friend’s home and their son, a residential builder, liked her work and hired her to paper his new homes.

After injuring her wrist on the job, Owens said several builders she worked for suggested opening her own shop in the Springdale area. For a while, the gallery was tucked away in the Layman’s complex, but it recently moved up front.

“Before the move, my husband would call and ask how things were going, and we would only have about five people in for the whole day,” Owens says. “Now we have an average of five people every 30 minutes. We’ve done more business than I thought we would. We’re next to a restaurant so we get a lot of foot traffic. But we still don’t have a sign and we don’t advertise. Word of mouth has always been the best advertising for me personally.”