Lynchburg gallery combines artist's love of flowers, art, interior design

if you’re going

-WHAT: The Dancing Leaf Florist & Gallery
-ADDRESS: 409 Fifth St.; parking available in a lot next to the building
-PHONE: (434) 528-4940
-HOURS: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays

Cheri Payne has been in the flower business for as long as she can remember.

The Connecticut native’s mother was a florist, and Payne says as soon as she could stand, she was in front of a flower table putting together elaborate displays.

“There’s something about taking something from nature and bending it into a piece of art,” says Payne, who moved to Lynchburg almost two years ago. “People give flowers because they want to give a memory. They want to give joy.”

Part of the appeal, she says, is “watching somebody’s face light up when you walk to the door with the flowers. There’s something to say for the ‘ooh, aah’ factor.”

Now Payne is getting the “oohs” and the “aahs” for more than just her flowers.

Last month, she opened The Dancing Leaf Florist & Gallery on Fifth Street, in the building that used to be owned by the Good Neighbor Fence Company.

It’s a place that combines everything Payne loves: flowers, art and interior design.

“This has become the oasis in our lives,” she says.

The name’s origin comes from the time of year Payne decided to open the shop — October, when “the leaves were just in a swirl.”

One day, her mother-in-law looked out the window and said that the leaves were dancing.

“That was it,” says Payne.

In addition to the florist side of the business, Payne sells art, refurbished and hand-painted furniture, handmade jewelry, cookbooks and other small gifts.

She also offers interior design services and mural commission work, and the space doubles as an art gallery.

The work of The Dancing Leaf’s lead designer, Glenn Thompson, is always on display in the main room. Two side rooms display the art of others on a rotating, monthly basis. The next exhibit opens this weekend with a First Fridays reception from 5 to 8 p.m.

“We’re excited about getting new talent recognized and self-supported,” says Payne, who owned a similar business in Farmville before moving here.

The theme of the exhibit is Mardi Gras, and it’s an example of what they do best, says Thompson.

He says Payne will come up with an idea, and they’ll expand on it together.

“We really play off each other so nicely.”

The Mardi Gras First Fridays reception has grown to include live jazz and blues music, Creole appetizers and artwork — like hand-painted, costumed mannequins and a 3-D painting — Thompson is creating specifically for the event.

“As long as we’re alive, we’re hoping to keep it fresh and exciting,” he says, adding that they hope to “knock off all the sharp edges” that can sometimes intimidate people about art.

“(We) just make it so welcoming to everyone.”

Payne has 10,000 square feet in the building and already has plans to expand.

She and Thompson want to open a small bridal salon and something called a “Junqtique,” where they’ll sell more repurposed furniture.

“We can’t resist jazzing things up,” she says.

There is also warehouse space out back, which they hope to convert into artists’ studios. “Eventually, it’s going to be like an artists’ commune,” Thompson says.

Payne says they want to celebrate all forms of art, which can mean “so many different things to so many different people.”

For her, “it’s anything that gets my creative juices going and gets me excited,” she says. “Anything with flair.”