Tom Tansey was serving in the U.S. Army Reserve in 2009 when he was injured in Iraq. During his recovery at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Tom learned a craft that helped pave the way to a new career post-service.

“The local Air Force base offered a framing class in their woodshop,” Tom said. “So I took that.”

After the class, Tom continued honing his skills at framing and making shadowboxes. Once he retired from the military, Tom decided to move back to Flower Mound.

He continued to do framing work out of his house. And then one day, he visited a framing shop called Premier Gallery to seek help with a project he was working on. Eventually, he and his wife, Lisa Tansey, found themselves spending more and more time with the gallery’s owners.

“We started going out to dinner with [them] and thought we were making new friends,” Lisa said. “They were really interviewing us and offered us the business.”

So in October 2013, the couple took over Premier Gallery. Located on Justin Road, the framing shop gives customers numerous combinations of frames for artwork, diplomas and anything else people may want to frame.

The business also displays artwork from local artists. The pair both love artwork: Tom said he grew an appreciation for it as a child seeing different cultures, and Lisa said she has always loved going to art shows.

“I always liked the creativity and unusualness of items,” Lisa said.

Lisa said one of the things that defines Premier Gallery is its focus on the quality of its work.

“We have a lot of our customers notice that,” Lisa said. “ When they bring a piece of art in, we take time with them to find out where it’s going to go [in their house], and we learn the history of it.”