Business Profile: The Art Barn, Ossining
The Art Barn has been a mainstay in Ossining for more than 40 years, and recently relocated to a new building at 325 North Highland Avenue, near St. Augustine Church and Eagle Bay.
Carolyn and Paul DiLemme, a Valhalla couple who bought the business in October 2010, are still getting acclimated to their smaller building and doing their best to let their loyal customers know where to find them.
“We’re alive and well. They’re happy when they do find us,” said Carolyn, who noted The Art Barn has an email base of 1,000 people. “Unfortunately we put up a sign that we moved down the street and the next day the landlord took it down. We’re a mom and pop type shop. We treat our customers with respect. They get good design and good framing. That’s the key.”
The Art Barn has a wide array of framing corners to choose from, about 3,000 to be exact, but offers a whole lot more, including art supplies, framed art and prints, jewelry, toys, unique greeting cards and one-of-a-kind gifts.
Paul DiLemme has been a framer since he was a teenager and takes great pride in his work.
“My husband is a perfectionist,” Carolyn said. “We’ve had people almost in tears. They said we never thought in a million years something could look this good. We frame memories, whether it’s a vacation, their youth, their past. That’s what we do. Custom framing is our bread and butter. Nothing is perfect in this world, but we’re close.”
While the majority of customers of The Art Barn come from Ossining, Croton and Briarcliff, Carolyn said many clients travel from Pleasantville, Chappaqua, the rivertowns and Garrison. She noted customers have also sent items to be framed from as far as Florida.
“This community is very artsy. They take their art seriously,” Carolyn said. “We have a steady flow of business. Customers know here they’ll get personal attention. Not everyone has custom framing in their budget but we do our best to work with people. We bend over backwards to get it for them. Everything looks great when it leaves here.”
The Art Barn prefers having four weeks to complete an order but can accommodate last minute needs.
“We treat our customers with respect,” Carolyn stressed. “We will stay late by appointment. We’re a small entity but we do what we can.”
Carolyn and Paul DiLemme enjoy giving back to the community as much as possible. They have donated items and gift certificates to local schools and organizations. They offer a $15 discount to recycle bubble wrap and 20% off custom framing to anyone who donates blood to Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow in honor their son-in-law, who died from a blood disorder.
“It makes you feel good. I’m a humanitarian. I like to help people,” Carolyn said.
The Art Barn is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It can be reached at (914) 762-4997. For more information, visit www.theartbarn.net.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/