My Biz: Gallery helps businesses select art

Suzy McGrane-Hop figured she'd been thinking about her own business for at least 10 years.

McGrane-Hop studied art at Coe College, during which time she took an internship at Peppertree Studios, a gallery that operated in downtown Cedar Rapids.

“I really enjoyed the business aspect,” she said. So much so she stayed at Peppertree for 10 years. She gained experience in art sales, gallery arrangement and framing.

When the gallery owner closed its doors, McGrane-Hop moved on to Corner House Gallery. She worked there for five years, gaining additional experience in art sales, show planning and marketing. She also took appraisal work at that time.

When she opened her own gallery and frame shop, Gilded Pear Gallery, it was in shared space with Kliks Photography and Kôr on Third Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids in March 2011. As Gilded Pear is a one-woman show, she said the shared location has made the difference.

“It is nice to have that business synergy. They are fun people to work around, and we have good interaction,” she said.

Gilded Pear gets its name from McGrane-Hop's own art interests. “As an artist,” she said, “I'd done a long series of pear-inspired works.”

Thirty-five percent of McGrane-Hop's business is art consulting for both residential and commercial clients - from restaurants to medical clients and law offices. McGrane-Hop uses software to create digital presentations, then shares those images with clients via her iPad.

“It helps my clients visualize what the piece will look like in the space,” she explained.

She has also started creating customized, industry-specific art pieces for clients. She is in the early stages but believes this has potential for a number of industries.

“It's an artistic approach to be true to what they do,” McGrane-Hop said.

McGrane-Hop focuses another 30 percent of her work on framing, both for her own clients and Kliks's customers - and an additional 30 percent on appraisals. McGrane-Hop is one of the few Certified Fine Art Appraiser through the International Society of Appraisers in Iowa.

Along with featuring artists in her gallery space - typically in one- or two-person exhibitions that rotate every 6 to 8 weeks - McGrane-Hop also shows digital photography of her own.

Name: Suzy McGrane-Hop

Title: Owner and certified art appraiser

Company: Gilded Pear Gallery

Address: 808 Third Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids

Phone: (319) 366-0205

Website: http://www.gildedpeargallery.com

Know a manager or company that's been in business for at least a year that should be considered for “My Biz”? Contact business editor Michael Chevy Castranova at michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net.