Business Spotlight: Wild Horse Gallery expands to Carson City
Submitted by Brett Fisher on Fri, 12/23/2016 - 3:52pm
Sheila Hillebrand's art gallery and decor business on C Street in Virginia City ran out of room pretty quickly, she said.
"I had everything stacked up in the hallway where they could look through it," she said. "But most people don't look through it."
Most of the prints she carried were stacked on the floor because there wasn't the wall space to display them all.
That's why she looked at Carson City to expand her business, and she found plenty of room inside the Carson Mall on South Carson Street, where she opened her second Wild Horse Gallery and Decor store just a few weeks ago.
At more than 1,400 square feet, the space on the north end of the Carson Mall is three times larger than the space which her gallery occupies up in Virginia City.
Now, she said, there's more than enough space to display her prints, and with room to grow, too.
Hillebrand said because hers is a small, local retail operation it fits in well with the sort of businesses that the Carson Mall is trying attract.
"They're trying to get more mom and pop stores in here to promote the mall," she said.
Hillebrand said she's been in the art business for about two and a half years now, since selling her previous retail venture in Virginia City -- shooting gallery she operated for 12 years on the north end of C Street -- and starting fresh.
"I was looking for something different to do," she said.
Part of the draw to her products is the art, print reproductions of oil paintings. Some prints -- about 15 percent of the inventory -- are limited editions that are signed, numbered and come with their own certificates of authenticity. Most of the prints are open editions, she said.
At the Wild Horse Gallery, the predominant motif or genre is western with heavy emphasis on cowboys (and cowgirls), American indians, wildlife, horses, cattle, and leather tack.
But Hillebrand said she also carries a large selection of first responder and military print genres feature firefighters, law enforcement officers, army, navy, air force and marines in them.
Framing is the other part to the formula that makes her prints attractive, she said.
Hillebrand said she uses a craftsman who makes his own custom frames by hand and does his own matting.
In addition to framed prints, Wild Horse Gallery carries a selection of home decor, she said, including lamps made locally by artist Bill Eisele.
"He hand-makes everything, goes out in the hills and finds all these great pieces," she said. "He's right here in Carson."
Hillebrand said selling local products that are not only USA-made but also produced regionally is an important part of her business.
"People want things that are locally made and represent Nevada," she said. "They love it, and they're glad somebody's here in the mall locally."
Hillebrand said she's pleased to be located now in Carson City, where there is a renewed focus on the arts and a burgeoning community of artists.
"It feels great to be a part of Carson City," she said. "I love being in this community."
Hillebrand said she offers complimentary delivery of prints that are too big for customers to move themselves.
"If they can't fit it in their car, I'll deliver for free," she said.
For more information about Wild Horse Gallery and Decor visit its web site here, or like it on Facebook here.
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