Tryon resident Kathleen Carson feels very lucky.
This April, she celebrated the one-year anniversary of relocating Kathleen’s Gallery (formerly Simply Irresistible on Ola Mae Way) to the old barbershop on North Trade Street.
Increasing her customer traffic, she turned a little used storefront into a valuable part of the Tryon streetscape. Contributing to the town’s buy local campaign, the gallery showcases a variety of the area’s  artists and crafters, 99 percent of them from North and South Carolina, mostly from Polk County.

Born in Wyandotte, Mich., Carson began her artistic entrepreneurial adventures when she attended the Fashion Institute of America in Atlanta. After taking courses at Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Fla., she started freelancing for small design firms.
“I always sought jobs in the arts or in art-related industries,” said Carson.
In New York City, she worked at the world-renowned advertising agency BBD&O, and the international advertising, marketing and public relations agency Ogilvy & Mather. She then started her own tile business while living and working in Silver Springs, Md.
“I spent nights designing ceramic tiles for kitchens and baths and my lunch hours visiting architects and interior designers,” she recalls.
During a workshop at the Mercer Tile Works in Pennsylvania, Carson showed her tile samples to Norman Carlson, owner of Country Floors Tile. He liked her work and arranged for her to meet his buyers in New York City. Upon his advice, she designed whole-room tile systems.
“My work was included in their catalog and I was represented in their showrooms across the United States and Canada, shipping tile all over the world for 12 years,” she said.
Settling in Tryon in 1991, Carson found a small house to rent and turned the back porch into her tile studio. When design styles turned to more natural materials, like granite and tumbled marble, her orders diminished.
She decided to follow the credo on her mouse pad, “Life is all about how you handle Plan B,” and began designing furniture using her tiles with her husband, Bill Crowell’s, steel framework.
When Crowell built Saluda Forge on Ola Mae Way in 2002, the Upstairs Gallery on Trade Street was closed for renovations. The couple built a showroom to feature their work, but the space wound up larger than they could fill with their own work, so Carson decided to showcase local artists.
“The first gallery was called Simply Irresistible Gallery,” said Carson. “I quickly learned it’s not good to name your business something difficult to write on a check.”
After eight years, she decided to go with another plan B to move the gallery to downtown Trade Street. She and Crowell began renovations in February 2010.
“The old location was ideal except it was just enough out of the way to be easily forgotten,” she said. “When the barbershop became available, we knew it would be a better location.”
They had their work cut out for them, however. Converting the back room into Carson’s studio space, they left the two showers but removed the dressing rooms and oversized hot water heater. In the front, they kept the original barbershop cabinetry for the gallery display space and completely rewired the electricity for gallery lighting. To preserve the concrete walls, they installed picture molding to hang paintings. Although Crowell chose a glossy white for the interior, Carson painted the front door in bright colors to hint at the artsy wares inside.
“We had a lot of help from friends and neighbors to re-plaster and paint and do the carpentry work. Even some customers helped to move all of the art down the hill from the old space,” she said.
Since its opening on April 1, 2010, Kathleen’s Gallery offers an eclectic collection of color, energy and whimsy. Since many of the artists live in the area, Carson also points out that money from the gallery’s sales circulates to other local businesses. She also said attracting visitors in the downtown business district is good for all the businesses.
“Having a successful shop means visitors find more to do in Tryon and they keep coming back, hopefully bringing their friends,” said Carson. “When people come to shop, eat and have a good time here, it creates a thriving downtown and keeps local people employed. It is an awesome task to be a cog in this wonderful machine.”
Carson’s advice to aspiring gallery owners? Keep regular store hours and smile – you’re very lucky.
Kathleen’s Gallery is located at 98 N Trade St. in Tryon. To learn more, call 828-859-8316 or email info@KathleensGallery.com.