Diane Gaume, the owner of Artisans Connect Gallery, said she had the idea of opening an art gallery in the back of her mind for most of her life.

“I just always wanted to try and do a gallery sort of thing, so it just kind of happened,” Gaume said.

The Ohio native moved to the Georgetown area 12 years ago and was working in the marketing field when a chance encounter led her to owning her own gallery.

“I met the owner of [an art gallery] called Through the Looking Glass,” Gaume said. “I started working with her and then her husband took a job out of town and she was just going to close down, so I bought it from her.”

Gaume took over the business four years ago and renamed it Artisans Connect Gallery.

Gaume said her background in marketing helped her choose the perfect name for the vision she had in mind.

“That was the thought behind the name,” Gaume said. “It was really about connecting artists and artisans to each other and to the public.”

She said her main purpose is to showcase talent from in and around the Georgetown area.

“It is all local,” Gaume said. “Those [were the things] I really stuck to—local and original.”

Artists ranging in age from their late 20s to early 90s have pieces in the store, Gaume said, adding that it is important to her to keep a diverse inventory available.

“There are not 15 copies of something that anyone else can buy,” Gaume said.

The store offers decorative and functional art as well as custom pieces and gifts. Gaume said she enjoys connecting artists and people to help create something.

“There are so many talented artists in this area, and it’s not just paintings,” Gaume said. “I really wanted it to be a mix of things and styles and let it be what the artists does.”