The Parakeet Tree

Owners: John and Anne Olwin
Address: 710 Commercial Ave., Anacortes
Phone: 293-2420
Start-up: May 1, 2001

The name and the sentiment behind the new Parakeet Tree in downtown Anacortes have traveled the length and breadth of the nation with owners John and Anne Olwin, from central Florida to little Skagit County in Washington state.

The business is a newly named and expanded, art-and-framing business, made all the more delightful with an added café, art supplies for sale and a spacious classroom/meeting room. It’s named for a café, which was adjacent to a tree favored by feral parakeets in the Clearwater area of Florida. “That café, now gone, was precious to us because that’s where we fell in love,” Anne says, so it was a natural name choice when they decided to establish their special business here in the former original home of Fidalgo Bay Roasting Co.

In between living in Florida and Washington, the Olwins got married, had three daughters, moved to Montana “where the crime rate was lower, but the snow was deeper,” according to Anne — and then finally, after much research, found Anacortes five years ago. “We called all the chambers of commerce within a certain area,” she observes, “and the Anacortes chamber was the nicest.” Settling in quickly, Anne is now a member of the chamber board. “I don’t ever want to move again,” she says.

Anne, a skilled watercolor artist, operated an art business out of their home for 20 years so she could stay with their three children while John worked in electronics. Before that, she taught elementary students math, science and social studies. John did all her framing over the years, she notes, “and it all blossomed into a nice business for us.”

The children grown, Anne and John moved the business into a small space over Bayshore Office Products in Anacortes and stayed there a little more than a year. Then, when the former Fidalgo Bay Roasting Co. building became available, they moved last May just a block down and across the street.

The 4,300-square-foot space proved to be an exciting improvement, with plenty of room for the comfortable café, lots of wall space to display paintings for sale and a separate room from which to sell art supplies. In addition to Anne’s paintings, other artists and photographers whose work is currently on display include Dan Olsen, Janna Chase, Clayton Rippey, Dick Harrison, Leslie Dorn and Joann Ossewarde.

One of the Olwins’ daughters, Melanie, a student in culinary arts, and Gary Sawyer, owner of the building, helped expand the café menu from typical espresso-bar fare to include soup, sandwiches and salads.

“If it had not been for Melanie’s interest, I’m not sure John and I would have tackled that part,” Anne notes. “Now we’re looking at adding a complete kitchen and a more complex menu.” They have two other daughters, Elizabeth and Jennifer, who work there occasionally.

Not holding back her superlatives describing their new location, Anne exclaims, “It is heaven!” She says she especially likes the extra classroom space in back, a spacious area with ample light and jars of brushes on several big tables.

“To have a classroom like this is a tremendous joy,” she enthuses.

In this room, Anne teaches “mostly watercolor,” but also drawing, pen and ink, pencil and colored pencil. There will also be workshops by other artists.

“At the other location, we had 8-10 students consistently,” she observes. “I’m excited to see what we will have here.” Classes often are a mixture of beginning and advanced students. “I’ve found students move more quickly in a mixed class,” the experienced teacher notes. The classroom will also be available for meetings and group luncheons.

The Parakeet Tree is open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. A quarterly newsletter lists classes plus local and regional art shows. Call 293-2420.