CEDAR FALLS -- Art and business apparently mix well. Two brothers, Greg and Garland Angove, have seen to that.

As a result, the brothers' company, Heritage Art Galleries & Frame Shoppe, is now celebrating its 30th anniversary.

The brothers have reached that milestone, having cobbled a business model that might parallel a Wal-Mart as much as an art gallery.

Heritage has put together a network of printers, suppliers and even has a regular stable of local artists. They have an array of frames, and what they don't have can be ordered to a customer's specifications.

They have two locations -- 2018 Main St. in Cedar Falls, which Greg operates, and 121 Brookeridge in Waterloo, which Garland runs.

The business has come a long way since it was launched at Waterloo Road and Grand Avenue as a retailer of prints.

"The limited-edition print market was a burgeoning market; there were not that many publishers of that type of work back then," Greg Angove said. "We have expanded from posters to fine original pieces. We deal with limited-edition canvas works and represent Progressive Fine Arts, where we've hosted shows where we've identified individuals with interest in original work."

The technology has led to stark improvements in the items on display in the galleries, Garland Angove said.

"The printing processes have changed a lot since '78," he said. Prints come via Giclee processes, which make use of high-quality ink-jet systems, he added.

The way the pair do business has evolved, as well, including use of the Internet, Greg Angove said.

The company partners with Berkshire Hathaway-owned Artaissance, which provides art custom-ordered online.

"You can go online and select from a vast array of art and dictate the medium it will be printed on, as well as its size," Greg Angove said. "It's really a great benefit to us because it gets us back into the Internet," he said.

Don't sell the gallery experience short, though, Garland Angove interjected.

Both gallery facilities offer plenty of room for items on display.

"The other two things that have changed over the years is our new location, having a 3,000-square-foot gallery we both built since the initial gallery," he said of the Cedar Falls facility that opened in 1990, followed by the new Waterloo gallery, in 1991.

The moves were made for several reasons, Garland Angove said.

"As far as being able to offer more space, that was one of the reasons," he said. "I had good visibility on Kimball and Ridgeway, but after Greg built his building, the availability of more wall space was more important. And there was the ability to own my own building."

Bigger buildings also offered the pair an opportunity to expand services, Greg Angove said.

"I think, too, it would be important to note that we continue to offer custom framing at both locations, and through the years we've been able to frame some pretty unique items."

The Angoves don't just frame pictures.

Greg Angove has framed artifacts brought back from India, golf balls from holes in one, letter jackets, football jerseys, military medals and other memorabilia.

For art lovers, there has never been so much available for purchase, in a wide price range, thanks, in part to a partnership with Canada-based Progressive Fine Art.

"They are prolific in the amount of art they're producing, but each is an original piece," he said. "So, a client is able to say they have an original, something that's unique. That's important to a lot of people."

The galleries, which typically carry 250 to 300 pieces of art in stock, have pieces ranging from $25 through $4,000 and, occasionally, higher, he added.

"We represent P. Buckley Moss, who does a lot of limited-edition prints," he said.

One such piece is a Moss rendering of the University of Northern Iowa campanile, available for $7,000, Greg Angove said.

The current travails of the national economy have presented new challenges, but the Angoves voice confidence that their business can withstand it.

"We're working harder," Greg Angove said. "I wish I could say that we haven't felt it. We have felt a little bit of a downturn, but we're working through it.'

The current Christmas shopping season is generally the galleries' busiest time of year, and this year is no exception, Garland Angove said.

"It's gift giving, having something custom-framed," he said.

The galleries also are a showcase for area artists, Greg Angove said.

"We've had showings for artists through the years, including one recently for P. Buckley Moss," he said, adding that Russian artist Irene Sheri, Maynard Reece and others also have had showings. "Being involved with young artists has really been our focus."

Indeed, the business is the only authorized dealership in the area for several top artists, including Reece, Terry Redlin and Moss.

Each artists brings something different, which helps both the galleries and the artists, Garland Angove said.

"That's the thing I feel is unique to our gallery -- the wide variety of art we do provide," he said.

Greg Angove added that the galleries will go out to procure a work that it may not have in its inventory.

"You'll find it, or we'll work very hard to find it," he said.

The galleries are open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. The firm's Web site is www.heritageartgallery.com.

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com