Downtown frame shop closes

Retiring owner will continue making frames from home after closing her shop

RACHEL SUN | The Daily Evergreen

Owner Leslie O’Dell said she will miss her customers when she closes her Main Street store, Framing It Up. The Spokane native opened her Pullman shop nearly 13 years ago.

Rachel Sun, Evergreen Roots editor

After nearly 13 years, Pullman’s Framing It Up will close its doors.

Owner Leslie O’Dell said that despite looking forward to retiring, she will miss her customers.

Standing in her Main Street shop Thursday afternoon, O’Dell recounted fond memories of the community members who frequented her business.

One conversation years back left a lasting impression. O’Dell said that the sweetest thing a customer ever told her was from a college student that came to her store.

“[The student] came in a couple years ago now, and she said, ‘I’ve been walking by your shop for four years looking at the diploma frames in the window. And now, it’s my turn.’ ”

The young woman’s remarks were touching to O’Dell, who talked about the kindness she experienced from the community in her years serving the Pullman area.

“My dad passed away two days before Mom’s Weekend in 2010, and I couldn’t go because I had this big job I had to finish,” she said. “It had to do with the pre-pharmacy school here. About a week later, this sympathy card came from these students that didn’t know me, but I had donated stuff to them. That was really sweet.”

On another occasion, O’Dell said she received flowers, a card and coffee from customers after the loss of her pet dog.

While Pullman residents have supported O’Dell over the years, she’s been busy taking care of their photos and keepsakes.

With more than 20 years of experience in framing, O’Dell loves the forethought and creativity her work requires, she said.

O’Dell prides herself on her needlework mounts, and the care she takes with each job, she said.

Still, she said she is ready to leave her shop and after its closing, she will travel and spend more time with her family.

“[I plan to] go to Olympia and see my grandson,” O’Dell said. “He was born a year ago so I’ve missed out a lot already.”

O’Dell will continue framing but will work out of her home, she said.

“I can never imagine not framing,” O’Dell said, “but there are other things I want to do.”