This week's featured Shop Wharton business
Montgomery Gallery provides 'final piece' of design puzzle
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Staff photo by Barry Halvorson Making more than a keepsake, Margaret Montgomery-Kostka does museum quality framing work at Montgomery Gallery and Frame to create an eye-catching display capable of preserving memories that will more than last a lifetime.

While sometimes considered the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to interior design, what goes up on the walls is a key part to creating the feel of a room, according to the owner of Montgomery Gallery and Frame, Margaret Montgomery- Kostka.

"I look at frames as being its own unique piece of furniture and one that will outlast all of the rest," she said. "It is often the one piece that is there to stimulate visual pleasure and put there strictly for beauty."

And how items are displayed is a specialty of the business.

"We can create a display for a wide variety of items from photos and prints to original pieces of art to three-dimensional objects such as textiles, jerseys, glass and metal items ranging from items like guns to shovels used for a ground breaking."

"A lot of people are now framing flat-screen televisions to work them into their interior design," she said. "I recently framed a number of televisions for an upscale restaurant that shows a rotation of various pieces of artwork to create atmosphere."

As a professional framer, Montgomery has access to all of the latest techniques and materials and can do museum quality preservation. She is a member of the international Professional Picture Framers Association, currently serving as president of its Texas Gulf Coast Chapter. As a PPFA member, she has to pass a certification exam every four years.

One of the benefits of association membership, Montgomery said, is being able to stay in touch with others in the industry so she can exchange ideas to share with her customers.

"A lot of what people want framed are going to be family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation," she said. "So you want it to last and framing based on conservation and preservation is worth the cost because the beauty and value will out live the expense. I've preserved letter and documents ranging from one signed by Adolph Hitler to one from Mother Theresa."

Her work with larger objects include creating frames for folded flags to shadow boxes displaying such personal items and a child's first shoes or baptismal gown.

As part of her dedication to preservation, Montgomery said she also does consultations regarding items that have already been framed.

"There have been dramatic improvements in the materials and techniques used in the profession," she said. "And some of the older materials can eventually damage what people are trying so hard to protect. So it can be beneficial to have them checked occasionally."

And if you need something to go into a frame, that is also available at Montgomery Gallery.

"We carry a variety of prints, both paper and canvas," she said. "We also carry some original materials by local artists and photographers. A lot of people know what they want and do Internet searches to find something like it, but may not know how to purchase it. They can come to me and I can use my many resources to locate the particular piece."

Other services provided include in-home design consultations, computerized mat cutting, glass etching and brass plate engraving.

Montgomery has owned and operated her business for the past nine years, her second career after spending 20 years in medical administration.

Montgomery moved to the Crescent area when she was 1 and has been here most of her life, graduating from Wharton High School. She is married to James Kostka, owner of Wharton Lawn and Garden. One son and his wife - Jeremy and Jimie Sue Copeland - are EMS paramedics in Wharton while her other son, Jason, and wife, Lainee (originally from Boling) live in Austin. She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and attends the Caney Creek Church in Wharton.

Staying in Wharton and maintaining a convenient downtown location on the Courthouse Square makes Montgomery Gallery very customer friendly.

"A lot of people think you have to go to a big city to get the kind of quality work that is available right here in Wharton," she said. "I have a number of professional friends in the business in bigger cities that have overhead costs that are 15 times what I have to pay.

"And that savings is passed along. It can actually be more cost effective for people living in the big cities to bring their framing needs here to Wharton."

The shop is located at 110 S. Houston and can be contacted by phone at 532-3929.

The shop is currently developing a Web site that will be available later this year.