I had two reasons to visit the framing store called LA Frames on Third Street in Renton.

First of all, I wanted to have the two watercolor paintings framed that I had purchased from local artist Louis Anderson. Plus, I had heard so much about the store from our local artists that I was hoping to interview the owner for The Creative Side column.

I asked owner Dan Sullivan if he would be willing to talk to me so I could write about him and his role in the art scene of Renton. He was a bit shy about the idea, but he hesitantly agreed.

First we looked at framing possibilities for the paintings. We worked together to choose the best matting and frames.

The framing of a work of art is an important creative aspect of the artistic process. The artist is best at selecting a frame that completes his or her vision, and an artist wants to work with a framer who can understand that vision. But many times, an art buyer has an unframed work of art, and this is where the creative abilities of the framer are very important.

But since he was busy with a large order, I agreed to come back another day for the interview.

When I returned, I found out he had been born in Spokane, but moved to the Seattle area and went to Washington State University, majoring in psychology. This was during the late sixties, and he admitted that he was more interested in participating in Vietnam War protests than he was in his studies.

“I was an out-and-out hippie, chanting anti-war songs with my guitar in a Seattle Park. When the draft lottery announced the numbers, my six friends and I in the dorm where ecstatic to find out that we had very high numbers,” he said. “The lower the number, the sooner you might find yourself in Saigon.”

In his fourth year of college, Dan dropped out. With his hair to his waist and his beloved guitar, he started a rock-n-roll band. Touring in their Volkswagen bus, which he described as a “piece of junk,” they played gigs as far as Portland, Ore.

I asked Dan the name of his band, and he said they changed their name many times and he couldn’t remember any of them.

“We were pretty loose back then,” he offered

In Portland, he was in charge of purchasing all the musical equipment. Then the band broke up and Dan moved back to Spokane for a while before moving with some friends to Capital Hill in Seattle. He was done with music. He said he just hung out with friends.

“I needed a job. I was willing to work sweeping floors, but they told me I was overqualified!” he said.

Then one day, he was walking with a girlfriend down a street in Capital Hill. They stepped into an art-framing store. The owner asked him if he had any art experience, because he was hiring.

At first Dan said no, but then told the owner he had painted all his life and knew a lot about art. He came back the next day for an interview. He tucked his waist length hair into his collar, and stiffly walked into the store. He was hired and would start on Monday.

On that day, he came to work with his hair free and flowing. The owner’s wife came in, walked by him, and then he heard her shouting “He’s a d*** hippie!” at her husband in the next room.

Dan cut his hair the next day.

It was years later, before the owner finally asked Dan, “You didn’t know a thing about art when I hired you, did you?”

The owner, Al Cannole, eventually moved the business to Renton. Dan went with him to work in the Renton store. In his later years, Al suggested that Dan buy the business from him, which he did.

Dan met his wife to be in 1980. Their daughter just graduated from the University of Washington and is pursuing a career in medicine. Their son has a career in International Marketing in San Francisco.

Dan plans to become semi-retired soon and will leave the major responsibility for the business with his employee, Woody Smith.

Woody told me he use to work at his father’s art store in Renton, Gary’s Paint and Wallpaper. When Safeway purchased the building, Dan suggested that Woody come work with him at LA Frames.

After 18 years at the store, Woody said, “This is such a creative atmosphere. We meet every kind of personality and learn to adapt to their needs. We have some great customers, and we are up for any challenge—from a simple poster to framing priceless art.”

They both told me that the high-end framing business is strong and some of the customers are well-known national artists. The 9 feet by 10 feet frame that I had seen them working on when I was there before was shipped to Palm Springs, in fact.

I asked Dan if he planned to grown his hair out again when he retires. “Oh No!” he said, “This hair is not growing!” (You can visit the LA Frames website at www.laframesinc.com.)

During the sixties and seventies, a lot of people had long hair. They dropped out and sat in and protested. Some even inhaled. Some people served in Vietnam, and some escaped to Canada. And some people – like me – watched from afar while raising children. If you lived through the Vietnam/Hippie era – and would be willing to share your story (whatever it may be) for a book of memoirs from the era – send an email to me at renton.creativeside@gmail.com