The 2024 Best of the Valley Daily News Record competition has opened. We are thrilled to be nominated in three categories this year. If you need some help deciding who to vote for in each of these, here are some pointers.
Best Gallery Space – Vote here
When considering our gallery as one of the best, please take into consideration some of the criteria by which we judge a gallery. The Arts Council of the Valley is a gallery that has the appropriate lights, hanging systems, and has staff in the facility. It is a professional space that features some of the best artwork we have seen in the valley. The North Wing Gallery at Sage Bird Ciderworks has fresh amazing cider available along with comfortable seating anytime you visit. You not only get art, you get comfort and flavor. Oasis Fine Art and Craft has every kind of art, from the most amazing artists you will ever meet each and every day in their space. The artists of the work themselves are often there and you can meet them. The Virginia Quilt Museum has beautiful hand-crafted tapestries that tell of the tradition that is still thriving in the valley. The Hotel Madison & Shenandoah Valley Conference Center can rent you a room if you get tired from viewing their art. They also have a restaurant in the same building. The Frame Factory and Gallery can not only show you art, but they can also frame your art. VMRC Park Gables Gallery has awesome people living in the same building as the gallery, who you can meet and talk to about your art preferences. Our gallery, which we love and are proud of, is alas just a hallway. We do have brilliant artists that hang their work, the lighting is ok but not gallery lighting, we have food and drink on First Fridays from 5pm – 7pm only, and there are no rooms to rent or comfortable chairs to sit in. If we were ranking us in this category, it would not look good for winning. I think in March Madness terms we lose the play in game in this category.
Best Home Improvement Company – Vote here
Now when you think of home renovation, there is nothing better than having a solid plan in place before swinging a hammer. We can certainly lay out a plan of action and I think we will do a pretty good job of it. I am sure if you are looking for someone that fits this category with the widest range of services you could say all we do is design so that limits our appeal. However, I am not sure we can compete with the people that actually do the home improvement work like our friends at Sustainable Solutions. So again, in terms of our March Madness rankings, I don’t think we are making it to the final four.
Best Architectural / Interior Design Firm – Vote here
Finally, this is our category. I know we qualify for consideration, and we are up against some other amazing architectural and interior design competition with Moseley Architects and LDD Blueline. However, also in this category are our friends at Gray Fox Design Works and Mill Cabinet Shop that do amazing and beautiful furniture and cabinets that certainly enhance the interior design of a space. We are also up against Herr & Company that builds beautiful and amazing buildings and homes and Funkhouser Real Estate that can sell an architecturally interesting home. So the competition is tough, but I feel like we can make the final 4 in this category, right?
We are honored to be included in the three categories and always appreciate your support. You can vote daily from March 27 – April 4 in this round to determine the top 5. Voting and promoting all of these local companies is so important to our survival as small, locally owned businesses.
