Curate Art & Decor is open!!!

Original art, small pieces of furniture, pillows, accessories . . . and of course some blue and white!

Love this large Caroline Leigh Lane piece above the red dresser Kim found junking and Artie Vanderpool piece flank the wall on the right just perfectly. Kim found SIX of these bistro chairs!

• 

Thank you Jon Rice for the wonderful photos and the support and talent of your family! We love you!

As promised on Instagram, I am here with more information about this new venture coming soon to 712 North Park Street, Brenham, Texas

It’s official ~ CURATE ART & DECOR will be open SOON! Sat October 24, 2020 (9 am-9 pm) & Fri/Sat October 30 & 31st (9 am-9 pm) Sunday, November 1, 2020 open 10-6 pm

CURATE Art & Decor will be blend of vintage and new home decor, the occasional fine antique, home decor accessories like candles, design books, kitchen items, pillows, vintage rugs and ORIGINAL ART! This is not a huge store, I repeat, not huge, but our hope is that it will be “tiny but mighty” full of personality, color and heart!

CURATE is the brainchild of Kim Bergez and yours truly. Kim will be the “head curator” and I will be a guest curator, opinion giver and work “mate”! Our shared space is a freshly painted navy and white tiny house near Brenham’s beloved Fireman’s Park and wonderful public library! Downstairs will be Curate Art & Decor and UPSTAIRS will be a satellite office for Holly Mathis Interiors! This wonderful spot is conveniently located next to Brenham’s frame shop, UNIQUES!

The timing of opening a local “actual” store (no matter how tiny) or satellite office during a global pandemic may sound a bit strange, even foolish.

But sometimes the opposite of what seems safe and easy becomes EXACTLY WHERE YOU NEED TO BE! OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE!

Quick update on HMI! Personally, I started 2020 with strong marketing plan to take a lot of my HMI offerings online with design classes and master classes. Big dreams and investing. All smart and timely. But the pandemic changed many things. For me both as a micro, solo-entrepreneur and as a mother! Understatement of the year right? I could have pushed out this content. But I quickly started to notice many things in my own family personally (boy do I ever want to savor my growing kids, my firstborn is 16 in 2 days!) and in creative business and communities. I see or felt (my opinion, I am an enneagram four so maybe its just a feeling;) a SATURATION, in my opinion, of content in all areas, classes, videos, podcasts. I love social media and online offerings are certainly not going away in our world. Duh I know that. But I prayed and decided if I was feeling overwhelmed and buying but not digesting content I had paid hard earned money for, others might be too. That didn’t sit well with me about this trend. I want to provide content truly needed in God’s perfect timing for me AND for my readers, followers and clients! I have frankly unsubscribed from some things, even some I really enjoyed and liked and may come back to later because I’ve just needed a break! Maybe you do too?

Holly Mathis Interiors will keep on one on one with people in their homes whether it’s a new build or one home, in-person or private e-consults. I am taking a break from the pressure and trend in business of “let’s put everything online” from consulting and shopping offerings to keeping with my most recent (and frankly always the most successful) business model of local work and community focus. That doesn’t mean I won’t still offer online classes, e-consults and video content at some point but for now, primarily local clients + this tiny space and the concept of CURATE seem a good fit for the Bergez family and my little biz and family as well. And hopefully our community. And of course that doesn’t mean Kim won’t utilize Instagram for Curate to get the word out about new artists and curbside shopping if, Lord forbid the virus surges etc. Technology is a tool not our master and shopping and living local is alive and well and so so vital to our lives in this hectic world!

So meet Kim, the energetic force behind CURATE HOME & DECOR!

• 

Kim and I believe people are hungry for in-person (though safe of course) shopping interactions more than ever. SHOP LOCAL has taken on a new value and reliability in the age of delayed shipping due to Covid and/or difficulty sourcing unique finds when antique fairs have been cancelled or delayed and many larger stores have gone out of business or are closed often. CURATE’s location is small and low risk and a great location for easy curbside if needed.

So we are taking the plunge and an unlikely road during an unusual time. Scary, yes? But fun and exciting too do something not on a screen!

Soon you will be able to access the CURATE website (see we aren’t totally ditching technology) and read more about Kim’s story and move to the country and her passion for finding small pieces of art that are an accessible and affordable way of collecting. She has blown me away with the all of the artists she has “curated” for this space including Texans Artie B. Vanderpool, Jamie Sawicki, Caroline Leigh Layne and Rhianna LaValla. Other artists include Shelby Dillon of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Becky Elgart out of Connecticut!

We can’t wait to feature each artist either here or on Curate’s website and instagram (@curateartdecor) . . . Lots to tell about each artist and how KIM found them, how they inspire her and how we see them being used in traditional interiors for fresh color and style.

Artie B. Vanderpool is one of the first artists to inspire Kim’s drive to “curate” (sorry had to) art for this new retail space. Artie now lives in NY but he is a native Texan and graduated from Baylor University just like ME so we have bonded and adore Artie on so many levels!

• 

• 

These Artie pieces above with wonderful frames and mats! Curate will have a variety of Artie’s work, we adore him and he has such a range of different works including the QE2 works you may have seen on his Instagram! Curate will have a range of Artie’s work as well as some items created just for us, not available online!

Another Texas fave, Caroline Leigh Lane

Original art collecting can be intimidating but we hope these works mixed with everyday home items pillows and thrifted decor will make it easy to visualize how much texture and soul real art made with real hands can contribute to our homes!

Excited to hang a big piece of Jamie Sawicki right here on the wall going up to my studio…do you see a literal gallery wall coming..oh yes! The SW Westhighland White walls are definitely READY FOR ART and color!

So how did I meet the Bergez family?

Long story and I will share one day but it includes a dear mutual friend and of course, Round Top Antiques fair, which coincidentally started this week! What better time to start this new tiny venture than during Texas Antiques Week! I will let Kim tell more about her history and experiences in a guest post soon or on the Curate website/instagram etc but I will just give you a preview. She is from the west Coast and came to New Ulm with her family recently via nearly 20 years in Houston. Kim is a traveler, collector and lover of all things interesting and beautiful, nautical and classic, but not fussy or pretentious! She is just cool and kind and fun and has good taste. That is a good combo in a friend and co-worker/creative friend, during a pandemic or otherwise! Kim is simply put just a great person as is her patient husband Doug who has encouraged this venture. I cannot wait for you to get to know this family more!

If you live in the Brenham/Round Top area you may recognize this house and remember it was yellow. Our gracious landlord let us choose new colors inside and out and has been patient and fun. Even when we wanted to paint the top cabinets a different color than the bottom cabinets. She is a creative soul too so we are all a good match!

• 

• 

• 

Oh and why use the name CURATE which is often used in language among creatives these days, maybe even a bit OVER used some might say;? Well it just fits. It’s us, each doing what we do in our respective right. Whether is shop keeping or interior design. I have a background working as a curator in museums and CURATIN’ is exactly the mission of both Holly Mathis Interiors and Kim’s shop philsophy. In Kim’s words “With Curate Art and Decor, I want to provide that experience where people can come in and find a little something to take home to brighten their spaces . . . a mix of all styles –traditional, eclectic, abstract and coastal with new and vintage finds.”

So the goal of Curate Art & Decor is to find quirky little paintings, original art, unique pillows, a vintage rug for your kitchen, all the random things (including earrings) come together in one little tiny house setting, curated for you to peruse IN PERSON not online! But in real life in real time with music and actual walls and color and sunlight streaming in…like a real home! That is what creating and curating a home and life is all about, details and experiences, unique beauty with authentic flair. That is what we hope you find in this spot on Park St in Brenham, Texas.

FOLLOW ALONG via instagram @curateartdecor and watch for updates about fall hours and events!