Meet The Boss
Karen Hertz-Sumnicht, Owner/Art Consultant
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree – St. Mary’s College, Indiana
Karen believes she has one of the best jobs in the world. Wearing a variety of hats each day keeps things changing and everyday special. “As we head into our third decade, I value the loyalty of our customers, reliability of our team and our creative know-how to produce truly unique projects, which is the reason Avenue Art continues to be successful.”
Meet The Team
Karen Heinritz
Associate degree – Interior Design, Fox Valley Technical College. With over 40 years of industry experience, an eye for detail and craftsmanship, superb organizational skills and a passion for preserving your treasures, Karen heads up our framing workroom. In her free time, Karen loves to create mosaic artwork.
Joe Merkes
Associate degree – Interior Design, Fox Valley Technical College.
For 30 years, Joe has used his unique design skills to style our gallery, design framing selections and accessorize for customers. Joe’s distinctive Christmas wreaths are always a big hit with our customers.
LuAnne McNichols
A familiar face is back on the team at Avenue Art & Company. She brings 40 years of framing expertise as well as owning her own gallery for 6 years in Oswego, IL. LuAnne is a native of the Fox Cities. Her favorite passion is designing and creating whether at work or on her own time.
Paula Druckrey Peterson
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree – University of Wisconsin (Oshkosh)
A talented artist in her own right, Paula has 30 years of framing and retail experience. She manages our advertising and oversees our inventory of art supplies. When she’s not at the store, she is an acrylic/mixed media artist and creates deliciously artistic cookies.