Meet Tamie Odom and Mark Nagel of Sparrows Gallery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamie Odom and Mark Nagel.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Fifteen years ago while working for Nagel’s Paint and More (a small Mom & Pop Paint Store & Frame Shop) I fell in love with paint, painting, framing the whole thing. I was 41. I got the dream of one day opening an art gallery as I had traveled and met artists along the way throughout my life prior to that. Flash forward to age 55 and my hubby, Ron says to me one day, “Don’t you think it’s about time for Tamie to be Tamie?” (Translation from “Ron speak” go chase your dream!) With his help and backing, I found a really cool historic building in downtown Denison that was badly in need of restoration. We did all the work ourselves (with the help of our friends!) and within a few months, we were ready to open.

It wasn’t an easy road to travel because these days so many people are turning to online stores to buy art. We have an online website where we sell our art too, but honestly, we have a huge inventory and most of it never even makes it online. I truly believe in the traditional “sticks and bricks” model of having an art gallery for a number of reasons. I think people just need to be able to have that experience of community. We’re a place to come and hang out. We have coffee and wine at no charge and lots of times we bring in musicians and hold events just for fun. There’s no way that people can truly experience art without seeing it in the real world. For me, I want to smell the paint, check it out under different lighting, just all of that.

Plus I have literally every kind of art in my world because I don’t want to be limited and I don’t want to limit other people. This is such a passion for me and I want to share that passion. Art is joy and emotion and life whether on canvas or something more tactile.

I think that’s why teaching about art has become so important to me. I started that this past year. We teach Educational Tours at no charge for kids from age 4 – College because there are not enough resources out there. And honestly, it’s not like I’m the be all and end all resource myself. It’s a basic education but I don’t try to go over their heads. I am bringing a love of art to the table and that I have in abundance.

Most people are surprised by how far I’ve come with so little formal training, We’re a premier gallery with pretty high marks on an International level. We have some top artists from the Local, National and International arena here and I sell quite a bit of art. I get asked, “How do you do that?” a whole bunch! I have to say first of all I give credit to the fact that we’re a Christian Gallery. It’s in the name. Sparrows Gallery comes from Matthew 10:29 – check the reference. So I feel like HE helps sell the art. Other than that, I think I am pretty good at relating to people and sharing with them what each piece of art has that is so special. If you love what you do, others will love it too!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle we’ve had has been marketing and getting the word out because we have the BEST art but we’re not in the best location on our street. Lean months meant keeping the lights on took precedence over getting the word out, but we’ve always been smart about using our social media and word-of-mouth to spread the word. These days we’re pretty content being in our own little part of the world!

One of the serendipity moments has been the fact that Mark Nagel has been able to work with me as my framer. Yes, the same Nagel who I used to work for! His company closed when Home Depot came to town so it’s been great to have his 30 years of experience as framer join forces with me! His custom framing is amazing and less expensive than the big box with a 40% off coupon too! I just loved that my small business gets to help him restart his small business!

Sparrows Gallery – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am most proud of the fact that we are so different from most art galleries. Our tagline is “real art for real people” and I meant that both ways! Sometimes I think galleries are too full of themselves. When you walk into my world you’re just a friend I haven’t met yet and I treat you that way. I know most of my customers by name and most of them are my friends. I’m often asked what “type” of art do we have, meaning contemporary, traditional, etc. and my answer is always, “Yes.” As in, “Yes, we have that, and that, and that too!” Because when I opened this gallery I vowed it would not be pigeonholed, my only caveat would be that all art would be QUALITY art and I know we have achieved that gold standard. I know that because I hear it every day from my clients.

I’m really proud of our artists because at the end of the day without them I just have a really nice building. What sets Sparrows Gallery apart from other galleries is the fact that we have the knowledge, integrity, and ability and all of that is tempered by a sense of playful humor.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It’s a toss up…. we were recently the People’s Choice for 2017 of County Line Magazine for Art Gallery and that was a real honor and having some of the top International artists here on permanent display is pretty heady stuff as well! I was recently asked to speak at Women of Visionary Influence and I love that because I used to work at the Apartment Association of Indiana and the San Antonio Apartment Association where I did lots of public speaking, I kind of miss that!

Contact Info:

• Address: 124 West Main Street Denison, TX 75021
• Website: www.SparrowsGallery.com
• Phone: 903-337-0708
• Email: info@sparrowsgallery.com
• Instagram: Sparrowsgallery
• Facebook: Sparrows Gallery Denison
• Yelp: sparrows-gallery-denison

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.