Granville County is known as being "Uniquely Carolina." But there is one place that can truly present itself as being "Uniquely You." The Painted Ox on Main Street in Oxford is part art gallery, part clothing store, part rummage sale – and 100% unique.

The store, owned and operated by husband and wife David Rogers and Ann May Woodard, has carved out a home for itself in just a few short years. David and Ann bought the property in 2016 and opened The Painted Ox in May of 2018. "Our love is for the arts," says Ann. "We try to present lots of artists. They need a place to show and sell their work."

In all, there are over 500 pieces of art displayed and for sale throughout the premise. From canvases to jewelry to pottery, there is something for everyone…and every price point – you can walk out with that special something for a few dollars, or a few thousand dollars. "One of our goals is to make the store affordable for everyone" explains Ann. "We certainly have collectors that come in, but we take great pride in connecting people with something they love and can afford."

For both Ann and David, The Painted Ox provides an opportunity to present art, and also forward their own artistic interests. Ann began her career in metal sculpting and then branched out to creating and selling handbags around the country at art festivals. She now complements that interest with metal sculpting. David is trained in art and combines this with his long history in carpentry and metal fabrication to create both visual and functional art. An avid outdoorsman he also utilizes these skills to create custom knives from bush craft to self-defense. These knives range from a simple slab of steel to artistic show pieces.

But for Ann and David, art extends beyond the traditional to include clothing. "What we wear expresses ourselves as much as the art we put in our homes – perhaps even more so," says Ann. Sourcing clothing from a number of outlets including antique stores, vintage clothing stores, and thrift stores, their store has actually transformed over the past two years into more of a clothes store. Currently about 80% of their sales are clothes, the majority of those for women. "It caught us off guard a little bit," declares Ann. "It’s something that actually snuck up on us. People kept purchasing, so we kept sourcing clothes." The majority sell for between $5 and $20. The collection can best be described as "eclectic" and certainly provide customers an opportunity to express their own personality.

In all, The Painted Ox is all about artistry and individuality. To further provide artists access to express themselves, Ann and David have turned their backroom into an arts material store and temporary studios for local artists.

This celebration of individuality is shared and promoted by two of The Painted Ox’s neighbors. This & That sells, well, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. "I tell people we have new, used, old and older," Says Ms. Betty, owner of the store and, arguably the queen of Main Street.

Joining these two stores is Main Street’s newest eatery, Strong Arm Baking. Owned by Julia and Thomas Blaine, Strong Arm Baking is a full restaurant and bar delivering the freshest ingredients in featured menu items such as pizzas, vegetables and small, shareable dishes.

Together, these and other stores make Main Street Oxford the center of town, and The Painted Ox the store to discover your inner artist.

For more information on The Painted Ox, visit www.paintedox121.com. For information on all that is going on in Downtown Oxford and Granville County visit www.visitgranvillenc.com