Progress as TheReview Wednesday, April 29,1992 — 2 a Salvador, Davis notaries [he Vilage Gallery Good people to know Pride of workmanship is guaranteed for wills and contracis Armed with a philosophy that “their clients needs will always come before their own,” Laurie Salvador and Susan Davis are Sidney’s two — and only — notaries public. The longtime Sidney firm is always willing to see a client after regular office hours and visit homes or hospitals when people cannot come to the Sidney office. “We take extra time to explain things to people if they have trouble understanding the princi- ples of real estate transactions, wills or estates,” the partners said. If a client’s needs extend beyond a notary public’s realm, Salvador, Davis will refer the client to other professionals. Salvador had an early start in the business. Her father John was a notary in Sidney for many years. When he and John Bruce Sr. retired in 1986, Salvador and Davis took over the practice and have since seen it go from a back office at Pemberton-Holmes (Sid- ney) Ltd. with two people to an upstairs office on Beacon Avenue with a staff of four people. There are only 250 practising notaries in the province and Salva- dor, Davis hold Sidney’s only notarial seals, which are desig- nated by legislation. In 1987, Joslynn Beischer, who had 19 years experience as a legal secretary, joined the firm as the key conveyancing secretary. The receptionist of five years, Judy Carey, left recently and, although everyone misses her smiling face, her position has been filled by Lisa Rehm, who is about to marry and settle down in Sidney. Davis, 36, had been John Salva- dor’s secretary for six years and gained 12 years of legal secretary experience before taking the notar- ial exams and finishing top of her class. A resident of Sidney for 14 years, Davis is married with an aduklt step-daughter and two teen- age children who are both active in basketball and swimming. Salvador, 39, is a Claremont Secondary graduate and, prior to her current career, spent 12 years in the tourism business in Victoria and Vancouver. She was executive assistant to Grace McCarthy for 18 months when McCarthy was the province’s Human Resources Minister. She is married and has two pre-school children, Nicholas and Morgan. Salvador has been a vol- unteer worker for the B.C. Special Olympics, Big Sisters and was a founding director of Victoria AM. “T like helping people and I get to do that every day at work. We are fortunate indeed to live and work in such a desirable place as Sidney,’ Salvador said. The partners spend most of their time in the office preparing mort- gages, real estate transactions or contracts, attesting signatures, pre- paring wills and attending to myr- iad other matters which pertain to their professional practice. A relaxed atmosphere where browsers are welcome is a top pmority for a Beacon Avenue gal- lery. The owners of the Village Gal- lery know what high-stress levels — are. They left that type of lifestyle long ago. After several years in the restaurant business, Judith Bowen and Frank Malerby were looking for less stressful and more fulfil- ling careers when they purchased the Village Gallery from Stan and Joan Dear about 12 years ago. Frank had always enjoyed work- ing creatively and after extensive training, study and hands-on expe- tience with Dear, he became the picture-framing expert. In 1986, Frank became one of the first framers to qualify as a Certified Picture Framer (CPF), a degree issued by the Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA). In the meantime, Judith com- bined her love of art and design with courses taken through the National Art Materials Trade Association and the PPFA, to become the design and needlew- ork expert. The Village Gallery has been in Operation on Beacon Avenue (between Third and Fourth Streets, next to the Bank of Montreal) for over 20 years and in 1990, an extensive renovation doubled the size of the original store and changed its “cozy” personality to a more spacious, brighter one better suited to displaying paint- ings. A staff of three full-time and one part-time employees help Frank and Judith with work in the store, Rae Belson and Marnie Scholes tun the gallery, art supplies and front end of the business with Judith, while Nicol Drysdale and Bob Bishop work with Frank in the framing shop. All the staff have an arts back- ground and are qualified and knowledgeable in all areas of the business. But the design work and per- sonal attention to custom-framing orders — which involves choosing just the right matting and frame — are personally handled by either Frank or Judith. The Village Gallery prides itself on a high standard of workman- ship and quality and every framing order is thoroughly checked before it leaves the store. On the back of each completed piece is a Village Gallery guaran- tee covering the work for five years, plus the signature of the person who actually did the work. Along with framing, the Village Gallery carries a wide Tange of fine art materials with names like Windsor and Newton, Grum- bacher, and Talens, promising top quality for fine art projects. The works of many local artists hang on the wall, along with a wide variety of posters, cards, prints and limited editions. A large selection of unframed prints, pic- - tures and posters are also available and can be framed to suit individ- ual tastes. The owners keep an ever- changing inventory to keep stock fresh and up-to-date and staff are friendly and helpful. Even better, perhaps, in these times when many outlets foster a “buy-or-move-on” mentality, the Village Gallery's encouragement of browsing makes the practice of window-shopping a rare delight. The Village Gallery on Beacon Avenue is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Monday to Satur- day. Advertising helps you to know. CANADIAN ADVERTISING FOUNDATION * Wills %* Conveyancing * Promissory Notes * Mobile Home Transfers * Personal Property Registry * Mortgages We're Here to Help You! LAURIE SALVADOR ND S USAN DAVIS __ NOTARIES PUBLIC — * Powers of Attorney * Liens * Residential Building Contracts * Title Services * Affidavits 2412 BEACON AVE., SIDNEY. 656-3951