Gander Studio is owned and operated by Mary & Randy Smith.  Mary began the business by offering art workshops on a part time basis until moving into their present location in downtown Alvin in 2016. Randy joined her fulltime in the daily running of the business in 2020.  The couple met at Foley's, a now defunct department store chain headquartered in Houston.  They both began in the management training program with Mary taking the buyer route and Randy in management, eventually finding his calling as a human resources manager.  They have one daughter, Avery, who is a high school student on the Jacketeers dance team, and works at Gander Studio every opportunity she gets.  They are active members of Grace Episcopal Church, which is just around the corner from the studio.  The studio is typically closed on Thursdays so they can support the weekly food pantry distribution at their church.  As a family, they enjoy traveling, great restaurants, gardening, reading, music,  Astros baseball, and UH basketball.