When Lisa Diamond and Shira Wood met at the University of Western Ontario back in 1989, they had so much in common. With Lisa studying art history and Shira working toward her visual arts degree, they connected on a creative level and that connection has lasted for decades. Today, the two are co-owners of Art Interiors, a boutique art gallery that sells original Canadian art in Forest Hill Village.
Before this partnership, Lisa worked at Posters International in Toronto where she discovered a real lack of art education among customers. “People were spending $20 on a cheap poster, and $200 on framing,” Lisa recalls. At the same time, Shira’s artist friends were accepting $20 for original works of art.
Back then, there was no trendy Queen Street, Lisa says. “If you wanted to buy or sell original art, there was only Yorkville and 80 Spadina and the average person didn’t feel comfortable walking into those snooty galleries.”
