When you’ve been in business as long Bennetts’ Frame & Art Gallery, it’s not unusual to see the children of your customers’ children come walking through the door, says Amanda Bennett.
The family-owned frame and art gallery turns 50 this year, having been launched in 1975 by Amanda Bennett’s parents, Joseph and Blaun.
Today, Amanda Bennett, who bought the business from her parents in 1992, says she can remember working there as a child.
“I would come in after school and help out,” she says. “If someone came in with small kids, mom would ask them to draw her a picture and give them each a dollar before suggesting they use it to go get an ice cream cone. Now, those kids are customers, and their kids are customers. But they still remember drawing pictures for my mom.”
It’s that attention to detail, that commitment to community, that has enabled Bennetts’ Frame & Art Gallery to grow and thrive for five decades.
“My mother was so kind and so confident,” she says. “When you have a small business, you have to distinguish yourself, and often the only way to do that is by the level of service you provide. If you stay true to yourself and beliefs, and have integrity and are kind, your business has a chance to grow.”
The story of Bennetts’ began in 1974, when Joseph and Blaun Bennett acquired the Mirror Outlet and Frameshop on Laurens Road.
At the time, Joseph Bennett was a CPA for a local textile company. Amanda Bennett remembers her father going into the Mirror Outlet at 5 a.m., working until 9 a.m., then heading to his day job, returning to the Mirror Outlet in the evening.
That schedule lasted two years.
“It became clear that they could not keep up that pace,” she says. “So, they decided to jump in full-time. Dad quit his job at the mill in 1976 to take it on full-time.”
When Amanda Bennett graduated from Eastside high School in 1980, she knew she wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps. After earning her interior design degree from Winthrop University in 1984, she also wanted to expand the business into an art gallery.
Amanda Bennett moved to Boston and spent two years in a commission-only art-sales role at a local gallery.
“The gallery trained me in sales, and I loved it,” she says. “I learned so much about the business in those two short years.”
Art gallery addition
When she returned home to Greenville, Amanda Bennett convinced her father to launch the art gallery — and they never looked back. Business grew so much that Bennetts’ Frame & Art Gallery moved to its current home at 2100 Laurens Road.
Today, Bennetts’ offers custom-framing solutions together with art-consulting and corporate-buying services.
“We handle all the framing and art for Bon Secours hospitals, and I think we’ve probably done all the art buying for every car dealer on Laurens Road along with countless doctors and law offices,” Amanda Bennett says.
They also launched Bennetts’ Express, a nearby discount framing shop, and during the pandemic started Amanda Cole Home, converting frames into decorative serving trays. The venture now supplies more than 120 stores nationwide.
A third generation is now involved: Amanda Bennett’s daughter, Pierce Becker, works at the gallery, and Pierce’s daughter also helps out — just as Amanda Bennett once did.
“I hope that at some point, when I get ready to retire, my daughter will want to do what I did and take over,” Amanda Bennett says.
Bennetts’ Frame & Art Gallery Timeline
1974 — Joseph and Blaun Bennett purchase the Mirror Outlet and Frameshop on Laurens Road
1984 —Amanda Bennett graduates from Winthrop University
1985 — Mirror Outlet and Frameshop becomes Bennetts’ Frame & Art Gallery
1988 — Bennetts’ Frame & Art Gallery purchases existing Laurens Road location, converts old location into Bennetts’ Express
1992 — Amanda Bennett becomes sole owner
2020 — Amanda Bennett launches Amanda Carol Home.
