The now-married couple met via a mutual friend at Barcadia, and both were immersed in the design industry long before they had the idea to get into retail. John Paul was an architect, and Erin worked at a Highland Park interior design firm before she decided to open a shop that could make the most of their backgrounds.
“[Erin] went on this mother-daughter trip to Fredericksburg, and she came back with this idea, ‘I want to be a shop owner,’” John Paul remembers. “So we opened a shop in Bishop Arts that sold design items and offered our design services without any retail background at all. We started with a really small budget and bought things we thought were cool.”
Inspired by the high desert landscape of West Texas, the Hossleys were drawn to furnishings and accessories that reflected the region’s paired-down minimalism with a Western bent.
“In architecture school, I took a few trips out to Marfa, and I really fell in love with the city and what [artist] Donald Judd had done,” John Paul says. “I felt the landscape was freeing and open, and you had the opportunity to do anything out there. We’re inspired by that stuff, and we wanted to bring it back to Dallas and curate the things we love.”
Launched in 2012, {neighborhood} offered Eames chairs, reclaimed lumber tables and custom consultations via the couple’s Design Bar. And, because Oak Cliff was so community-oriented, the Hossleys were almost instantly embraced by a clientele who responded to the shop’s aesthetic.
The coterie of local makers, entrepreneurs, restaurant owners and musicians surrounding them helped the store owners garner almost 200 design projects in the next few years. And the duo also found {neighborhood} could offer an unexpected outlet for local artists who wanted to show their work alongside the chic goods and furniture.
A few years ago, Hossley met Bruce Lee Webb of Waxahachie’s Webb Gallery at the Belmont Hotel, which sparked the idea of hanging up works on the shop’s walls. Soon, they were curating the likes of Jeremy Biggers, Riley Holloway, JM Rizzi, The Sour Grapes crew and Wheron, many of whom have gone on to become boldface names in the local artistic community.
By 2020, the shop had outgrown its space, and Oak Cliff rents were rising. The Hossleys bought a building in the Dallas Design District and were in the midst of renovations when the pandemic hit. The pause allowed them to build out the new {neighborhood} at their leisure while conceptualizing other ways to maximize their offerings.
What used to be {neighborhood} is now the Lone Gallery in the Design District. It's just as friendly, though.
Melissa Hennings
Enter Lone Gallery. {neighborhood}’s new offshoot has 2,000 square feet of white walls devoted to artists from the couple’s stable, plus fresh talents they love. {neighborhood} had never been considered an “official” art venue, and Lone possesses the independent spirit the Hossleys have always embodied.
“Erin and I basically have always felt we represented all these artists, but we felt we were doing that alone — we didn’t have the help of these galleries in Dallas," John Paul says. "They saw us as a stepping stone to a gallery space. We always wanted to be part of the Dallas gallery tours, but we never were, so I thought, ‘I guess we’ve done it on our own, we’re loners.’ It was the very first word that came to us.”
The space opened in March with a show featuring the colorful canvases of San Antonio painter Cruz Ortiz as well as work from Layla Luna, El Baker and Leslie Cottrill mixed with furnishings.
With this focus, the Hossleys envision mounting six shows a year, with a Tom Jean Webb exhibition scheduled for May/June, Kyle Steed in July/August, Bruce Lee Webb in September/October and Landry McMeans closing out the year. Lone will present up-and-comers alongside the highlighted artist, and every opening will kick off with a raucous party complete with a local band or musician.
Lone is already being taken more seriously by the art world — {neighborhood} has been asked to curate the VIP lounge featuring Ortiz’s work at the upcoming Dallas Art Fair. From street art to folk art, surrealism to Western American landscapes, the gallery is poised to become a spot where talent outside the typical gallery system can have their moment in the sun.
“Lone Gallery represents a space for people doing it in their own DIY style," says John Paul Hossley. "We are champions for the idea of the Mom and Pop and the unknown artist. We love what we do and are so excited about it all. Working with all of our artists to push their best ideas forward and give them a new big space to explore and develop has been one of the greatest unspoken rewards of it all.
“We look forward to seeing what each of these great Texas artists creates, and we are excited to establish new talents for years to come.”
The work of Cruz Ortiz, Layla Luna, El Baker and Leslie Cottrill will be on view at Lone Gallery, 2530 Converse St., through April 29.
