Whenever I have friends or family in town and I’m giving them the Fremont tour, we always somehow end up in Frank & Dunya even though I had no plans to. It’s just that kind of place, beckoning to you with its vibrant colors, curious artwork and whimsical flair.

Unfortunately, the home for so much local, independent art will be closing its doors and become a strictly online venture as of January 28th.

The gallery will be hosting an event on the 28th to say goodbye and they’d like you to be there.

Please, set the date to attend our “Farewell Fremont-Hello On-line” appreciation party for all our loyal supporters, artists and citizens of Fremont. It’s been 23 fantastic years, we couldn’t do it without you all!

Thank you humbly, Fremont! Thank you all our friends!!!

Until then, the store is featuring a moving sale and there is a “retail space for rent” sign up in the window.

Whoever the next company in that space is, may they embody the Fremont spirit even half as much as Frank & Dunya has.

If you want to stick it to the corporations out there, I suppose you could Occupy Fremont and set up camp next to Waiting for the Interurban.

Or you could make your holiday gift purchases as local as possible.

There’s lots of really cool gift ideas available from Fremont artists and plenty of them can be found in shops like Portage Bay Goods (621 North 35th), Dusty Strings ( 3406 Fremont Ave N) and Frank & Dunya (3418 Fremont Ave N).

Some of those items include, but are not limited to the following. Do yourself a favor and do a search throughout Fremont’s many shops for more local products and offers.

Luma Fused Glass ornaments and candles (Portage)

Jones Glassworks glassware (Portage)

Re-marks bookmarks (Portage)

Global Village Glass Snails (Portage)

Sam Hamrick greeting cards (Dusty Strings)

Emiliya Lane artwork (Frank & Dunya)

Susanna Price glass work (Frank & Dunya)