RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — A new business will emerge Friday in downtown Perryville.
Perryville artist Al Garrett Jr. will open the Suds Gallery at 312 Aplin Ave. (Arkansas 60 West) on the Perry County Courthouse Square.
The public is invited to drop by during the grand-opening celebration. The gallery’s hours will be noon to 6 p.m. Friday and noon to 4 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday.
The Suds Gallery is open to the public and provides consignment opportunities for local artists.
“There is still room for a few more (artists),” Garrett said.
The gallery charges a 25 percent commission on sales. Garrett said the gallery also offers graphic-design services, professional text editing, custom printing, unique personalized gifts such as custom T-shirts and caps, and signs of every kind.
Garrett said the building “has played a significant role in the life of downtown Perryville for the latter half of the last century.” He said it was built by Autry Tarvin in 1950 next to the old postoffice and was constructed of Breeko blocks, which are glazed, fired clay building blocks patented and produced by the Breeko Block and Tile Co. of Nashville, Tenn.
“Breeko blocks are much smaller than concrete blocks with horizontal cavities instead of vertical cavities,” Garrett explained.
The building was used first as a general store. Garrett said Tarvin sold the building in the early 1960s to theU.S. Forest Service, then to Othel “Chick” and Grace Padgett, owners of the Easy Pay Tire Store of Morrilton, which was also a Maytag dealership.
The Padgetts installed a laundromat in the Perryville building and operated it as such until about 1982, when Grace Padgett sold the building to Dr.
B.J. Suffridge Jr., an orthodontist who upgraded the laundry’s equipment.
The old building changed hands again in about 1987, when Thomas and Lucille Jones and Herby Branscum purchased it. John Roland bought it in about 1995. Roland continued to operate the laundromat until the mid-2000s. Garrett bought the building from Roland in March 2009.
Garrett said he calls his business the Suds Gallery “in honor of thousands of Perry County folk over the years who entered the building with dirty laundry but left feeling good with clean clothes.”
The Suds Galler y now displays original artwork, including those by Garrett and others in Perry and Conway counties. The building also includes Garrett’s art studio and workshop.
“Still, some customers are disappointed to find that the gallery’s motto is, ‘We don’tdo laundry anymore,’” Garrett said with a laugh.
Garrett’s father, Al Garrett, is a Perry County native. Garrett said his father was in the Air Force, and the family traveled all over the world. Garrett recalls attending school in Bigelow when he was in the third grade.
“I came back to Arkansas for college,” Garrett said. “I took art and general education courses at Harding University in Searcy for two years before transferring to the University of Central Arkansas, where I graduated with a degree in art.”
Garrett classifies himself as a painter creating realistic renditions of people, places and things using surrealistic themes. He was a portrait artist at Dogpatch USA (no longer in business) and has 10 years of experience as a graphic artistwith the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
“I retired in 2002 after 28 years in state government and moved to Perryville,” Garrett said.
After he retired, he took a year off and lived on a houseboat, traveling the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers to the Gulf of Mexico.
“I unsuccessfully ran for state representative for District 60 (Perry and Conway counties) in the recent Democratic primary,” he said, jovially adding, “The great thing about losing is you’re not a politician anymore.”
Regular hours at the Suds Gallery initially will be noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 61 on 06/24/2010