If you see LuAnn Thompson, make sure to wish her a happy anniversary.

Thompson’s business, Bellport Arts & Framing Studio, turned 20 this month, and it’s a milestone few small businesses achieve.

Over the years, Thompson, an accomplished painter and photographer herself—she’s exhibited in New York City and the Hamptons and won the Bellport Chamber of Commerce poster contest in 2008—has framed the artwork that hangs in the homes of many a Bellport resident.

She’s had lots of celebrity clients, like actresses Isabella Rossellini and Anne Hathaway, Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and Broadway star Billy Porter.

As one of the co-presidents of the Bellport chamber, Thompson is also one of the most recognizable business owners in Bellport.

Among Thompson’s many accomplishments, she helped start Bellport’s Easter Crazy Hat Parade, helped secure the grant for the ice schooner sculpture in Bellport Village and been a longtime supporter of the Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area, which honored her with its Legacy Award.

Thompson, who is married and has a grown daughter and 10-year-old granddaughter, has come a long way from 20 years ago when she decided to launch a framing business after years of working in the corporate world.

She worked in the corporate communications department at Underwriters Laboratories as a graphic artist, putting together the newsletter and website and designing presentations.

“I started researching what I wanted to do,” Thompson said. “Being part of the corporate communications department, I would have to work on the presentations for the sales department, the presentations for different conference rooms, what goes on the wall, working with framers. And I found that was my passion, to be part of the presentation of things.”

Thompson attended the American Picture Framing Academy to learn the craft.

“I started taking classes,” she said. “I went to all the trade shows. I just found a very interesting passion in how to frame something for somebody. It’s not making four corners. It’s about archival. It’s about using the right materials, not harming their paintings, using the right glass, using the right glues and tapes to put something down.”

Like a lot of small businesses, Thompson started out working from home.

As the business grew, she moved into small spaces. Her first spot—under the stairs at $120 a month—was in 2004 at what was then the Phoenix Gallery. Thompson laughingly said she got her chance because the gallery needed someone to staff the front desk.

“They had nobody to sit at the gallery on a Saturday, so they said, ‘We’ll make you a deal. If you sit on Saturdays, you can display your frames and start your business.’”

Thompson later moved to space at Brookstore in Brookhaven and a seasonal spot at the Bellport Outlets stores, before inking a lease for her own space down the block from Phoenix Gallery.

In 2012, she bought the Main Street building where her business is located. In addition to doing custom framing, Thompson also carries items like wrapping paper, cards and sketchbooks.
Getting involved with the Bellport chamber and other community organizations has been key to Thompson’s success.

“Joining the chamber, you network, you get to meet everybody,” Thompson said. “You get to meet all the different organizations and it helps build your client base.”

“The businesses that succeed here get involved in the community,” she said. “If your face is here and the local community gets to know you and you work with the organizations, it grows and grows. It’s that old saying, ‘The more you give out, the more you get back.’”

Thompson also sought out resources for small-business owners like the Small Business Development Center at Stony Brook University, which helped her write a business plan and obtain the Small Business Administration loan she used to purchase her building.

Thompson said that to be successful in business, you need to put in the hours and get to know your customers and their needs.

After 20 years, Thompson’s still working Saturdays, but enjoying it as much as ever.

“I don’t think I’ve taken off more than three Saturdays in 20 years,” she said.

On a personal note, Thompson is married to Jim Thompson. Their daughter, Natalie Ryan, is vice president of creative services for a global advertising agency. The couple’s granddaughter, Lucy, is interested in art. Thompson said she enjoys framing Lucy’s work most of all.