As Knightdale Chamber of Commerce executive director Jennifer Bryan would put it, Stained Glass Associates, Inc., has “windows all over the world.”

But Mike and Angie Strickland’s commitment to promoting art in and around Knightdale, and the opening of a gallery within their existing business, caught the attention of the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

In January, during the State of Arts and Culture in Wake County event, Stained Glass Associates, Inc., received the Business Support of the Arts Award in the small business category.

In her nomination, Lorrie Hargreaves, who serves on the East Wake Cultural Advisory Planning Committee, recognized Mike and Angie for “all the hard work they’ve done in promoting art in the community.”

In addition to the art gallery which was created as an extension of Mike’s stained glass business, Angie was instrumental in planning Knightdale’s Harvest Day, to be held for the first time this October.

She is also planning and promoting a local studio tour for artists coming up in March, Hargreaves said.

“They’re a very integral part of the arts community,” she said of the Stricklands.

Mike Strickland, who bought out Stained Glass Associates in 2009, said it’s been a dream of his to open a gallery to showcase area artists.

Originally, the gallery was situated downstairs in the stained glass building, and extended upstairs. It included paintings, sketches, pottery, and the like.

But because of the business space he had to give up and the cost of hosting the art, Strickland had to scale back on the number of pieces he displays. He said he hopes to one day be able to re-expand the gallery, but until then, will concentrate on hosting special events such as the upcoming studio tour.

Strickland said he was surprised his business was singled out.

“To be quite honest, I didn’t feel like we deserved any kind of award. I don’t think we’ve done anything incredible,” he said. “We’ve just been promoting things that are very similar to what we do.”

Hargreaves and Bryan would probably disagree.

“I was very excited” to find that Stained Glass Associates was honored, Hargreaves said. “I’m very proud of them,” Bryan said of the Stricklands. “They’re very supportive of the arts.”