Artist Julie Neill relaxes among the painted treasures she offers customers at her Magazine Street shop.

People seem to like the way artist Julie Neill sees the world, and their desire to have her visions represented in their homes has helped her career evolve from interior design and painting to owning a storefront and virtual manufacturing plant.

Julie Neill Designs (5419 Magazine St., 899-4201) offers a variety of hand-crafted wood and metal furniture, artwork, and decorating accessories including pillows, mirrors, chandeliers, photo frames, lamps and sconces, linens, photo albums and almost anything else a well-appointed home needs. The shop also carries personal fashion items such as handbags made from silk and other fabrics, artistic pins, jewelry and more. Neill’s passion, however, is placing her hand-painted designs on otherwise traditional pieces.

“I love French stuff or anything with a classic design,” says Neill. “But I want to dust off the cobwebs and make it now. I like furniture that is light and functional.” Originally, Neill started putting her painted designs, which range from simple fleur de lis to intricate floral patterns, on old furniture she would find and rejuvenate. Because of demand for the furniture and a desire to deliver customers pieces specific to their size and design needs, Neill began collaborating with craftsman James Jennings to design and build custom furniture that she would then paint. It has grown into a partnership that keeps both very busy.

“He’s my alter ego,” Neill says of Jennings. “We’re symbiotic. I give him my ideas and he gives it back to me in a piece of furniture. He makes quality furniture and fixes things (like dimensions and heights) that could go wrong. He’s my canvas.” Part of the success of the furniture venture is that Neill designs pieces that look old, capturing the charm of tradition and classicism, but have the modern conveniences of a lighter weight and easy-glide drawers. She even paints the inside of the drawers so customers don’t have to use liners. Currently, most of her furniture is custom ordered, but Neill plans to establish a line of ready-made items for wholesale and for customers who like to buy and carry.

“I’m concentrating on my furniture right now,” Neill says. “We’re trying to get a line going that people can just order from. That will open us up to a lot more customers. We’ll always do custom work, of course. My custom furniture is my love. It’s what I like to do most.”

In addition to wood creations, Neill also has designed a line of metal furniture, fabricated by a local craftsman, that comprises chairs, chandeliers, benches, curtain rods and more.

It’s a business that 10 years ago wasn’t even a dream; it grew out of a change of plans and necessity. Neill, who was a fine arts major, was married with two small children when her then-husband decided to return to seek a degree in architecture. Neill enrolled in an interior design course at Delgado and worked in that field for a half decade, during which time her painting talents were used mainly for painting walls. “You do what you need to do to make ends meet,” says Neill. “After a while you find a way to expand that.” Her method was painting furniture pieces for individual clients and picking up new business by word of mouth.

Although her furniture is her passion, much of Neill’s business success can be attributed to what have become her signature photo frames and stately trumeau mirrors. After five years of interior design work, Neill decided to try her hand at frames for photos and mirrors. She first painted picture frames for a small show and sold $2,000 worth in two days. As her business in frames, mirrors and furniture grew, her home became a warehouse for pieces in progress. A year ago she noticed the Magazine storefront for rent and quickly scooped up the space. In a few short months, the shop has become a display room, carpentry shop and manufacturer, currently for picture frames, all in one building.

“It’s been a lot of work, but the store has been a great success,” says Neill, who not only sells her pieces but that of other artists in her store. “It’s been gratifying that people like the freshened-up classic style and recognize the beauty of fine craftsmanship.”