We, Sara & Phil Kerns, own and operate Guild Galleries Interiors & Gifts, a well know and respected retail and interior design business.  Our business has grown through word of mouth by our well satisfied customers. We value our customers for who they are and not by how much they buy.

Guild Galleries Interiors & Gifts is located in a four story historic building at 118 N. Main St. in Historic Downtown Urbana, Ohio, est. 1805.  We purchased Guild Galleries in 1973 when we were still in our twenties and practically newlyweds. “We were very excited and grateful to have the opportunity to own an interior design business so early in life. It seemed almost surreal”

We’ve spent our entire careers working together. That’s how we met. After completing Kendal School of Design, Phil was drafted in the army for two years and then went to work as an interior designer in Springfield. After graduating from Patricia Stevens, Sara started working at the same business. Within a few weeks, we started dating and married two years later.

As young newlyweds, full of confidence and energy we wanted to own and operate our own interior design business. We already had a following of clients, so without much hesitation, we quit our jobs and formed our own business called  Studio 225. It was a non-storefront business located in our home. Our house number was 225. Thus, the name Studio 225.What we couldn’t offer at the time through our business we sought through other sources such as Guild Galleries located in Urbana but owned by Katherine & Don Smith of Springfield.

After several months of owning Studio 225 and working as free lance designers through Guild Galleries, Mr. & Mrs. Smith decided to sell the business due to Don’s failing health. The Smiths gave us first chance to buy the business. “We were so excited and absolutely elated at the prospect of buying Guild Galleries”

We quickly found out that getting a loan to buy a business was not easy given the fact that we had only been married a couple of years, were very young, and didn’t have any equity in our “fixer-upper” home. We were turned down by two banks who know us personally. But, we didn’t give up. We were confident we could make it in the interior design business. We sat down at our kitchen table and determined the minimum amount of money we would need to operate the business for the first year. We, then, went to a third bank and directly to the president of the bank. We had done interior design work for his and his wife’s home and felt that he would have a better understanding of the nature of our work. It didn’t take long before we had a loan and were on our way. We felt like we were “on top of the world”. The President of the Springfield bank and his wife often stopped in to see us. They were a life long client and a friend as well.

We lived in our first home in Springfield for thirteen years during which time after ten years of marriage were blessed with a son whom we named Ryan Nicholas.  What a blessing he was and still is.  Not wanting Ryan to attend school in Springfield while we worked in Urbana we decided to move to Urbana.  We bought another fixer upper, restored it and moved to our dream home three years later when Ryan was five years old and ready for school.  This historic brick home built about 1820 has been home since.  We have had many years of restoring our three historic homes which has afforded us experience and empathy to help others as they move toward decorating or designing their own home.

We are very thankful for our associates who help with various aspects of Guild Galleries.  We are like a family and couldn’t do it without them. While most of our associates are behind the scenes, you’ll most likely meet Virginia Lyden if you visit our store. She has been with us for several years and is our right arm. Our son, who took his first steps in Guild Galleries, helps in various ways but is principally our tech guy. We love having him with us. Also, it is with much pleasure to mention an excellent designer and very good friend who was with us for 24 of our first years, Lynn Tonkinson. Lynn moved to Florida to be with family and in the sun. All of us, including many of our clients, miss him dearly.    

We carefully select our sources for fine and distinctive offerings for our retail store Guild Galleries Interiors & gifts at 118 North Main St., in historic downtown Urbana, Ohio. In addition to our in-stock merchandise of fine upholstered and wood furniture, lamps, wall décor, fabrics, home accessories, distinctive gifts, etc. we offer special orders of furniture, fabrics, wallpaper, area rugs and more.

Today, we’re “growing” our business by e-commerce where the Internet is the new “word of mouth.” We’d welcome the opportunity to be of service and add you to our list of valued and satisfied clients. If there is something that you are looking for please do not hesitate to e-mail us.  Please accept this as an invitation to visit our store front whenever possible. Open Mon. – Sat. 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.  

Thank you for exploring our web site.

Sara and Phil Kerns