Picture Factory aims high

This framed art piece is just part of the 15,000 accessories the Picture Factory offers.


Barry Donovan and his wife, Barb, talk to Shelby Ward, right, the fine arts specialist at the Picture Factory about pieces of art that would go well in their eight-room house at Shadow Wood at The Brooks. Earlier in the day, Ward visited the Donovan’s home and took pictures of their wall space to use when the Donovan’s went to the store to pick out art pieces.

Selecting the right home accessory is the best way to make a house a home.

But with thousands of colors and a variety of styles, wanna-be decorators could be breaking a sweat before they even figure out what to buy.

That’s why decorators and home specialists at The Picture Factory want to help people accessorize with little stress and without breaking the bank.

“We cover the whole gamut of home accessories ... we sell framed art, original oils, silk florals and speciality furniture,” said Terry Worden, the manager of the Picture Factory in Bonita Springs.

“We are the store to come to after you bought the house and need to fill it.”

And filling that need is why the store is expanding throughout Florida with six locations including Bonita Springs, Naples, Fort Myers, Sarasota and Boynton Beach.

The company is working to expand nationwide.

“Bonita Springs is a growing area and the little time we have been here, we have done very well,” said Worden, of the store that opened in April. It’s newest location is in East Naples. “We are looking to capture a national chain eventually.”

But that growth of the company, Worden says, will come from working hard to please customers.

“You just won’t find this service anywhere,” said Barry Donovan, who has been shopping at the Picture Factory in hopes of filling his eight-room house in Shadow Wood at The Brooks.

“This is the best store ever,” added his wife Barb, who wasn’t sure where to start her redecorating project. “We knew we could come here and they would help.”

And helping goes beyond the walls of the store.

The Picture Factory has a fine arts specialist in Shelby Ward and a design consultation specialist in Lori Dopslaff to help customers even at their home.

Their services include taking pictures of the space and even bringing items with them for customers to try out.

“We have a wealth of information and everything under one roof,” said Shelby Ward, who visited the Donovan’s at their home and was showing them around the store, all in the same day.

The store also offers a unique custom framing service in which a frame is added to a customers photo digitally.

“The computer does it instead of just putting a real frame next to the picture and imagining what it will look like,” Worden said. “It’s unique and we might be the only place in the area that has that.”