FARMINGTON -- SugarWood Gallery on Broadway, a cooperative of local furniture makers and artisans, is being purchased by the owners of W.A. Mitchell Chairs and Heirlooms of Tomorrow in Farmington.

Heirlooms' owners Janice and Dan Maxham said the sale will be finalize July 1 and the grand "re-opening" of the SugarWood Gallery will be July 4 and 5.

When SugarWood was established in 2001, it had more than 15 members in the cooperative that shared in the profits, made business decisions, shared material and ideas and ran the gallery. There are now about eight members and the Maxhams will be buying out their shares, Dan Maxham said.

"They were ready to make a change and we were ready to expand," he said. "In this economy, consolidation of the two entities will make the combined businesses even stronger."

SugarWood was created under the direction of Chris Krause of East Wilton and MaineWoodNet. Fifteen area artisans initially owned and ran the Gallery as a cooperative and as many as 100 area craftsmen have sold their creations there on consignment over the years, Maxham said. The Gallery expanded twice at its Broadway location and continues to be a popular source for quality, handcrafted furniture, gifts and accessories.

Heirlooms started in 2004 as a retail outlet for factory seconds and trade show samples produced at the Maxham's furniture manufacturing company, W. A. Mitchell Fine Furniture, in Temple.

The Maxhams also created a gallery for 30 artisans and artists who will now be able to display their products to a larger market downtown, Maxham said.

The Wilton Road store will be renamed SugarWood Annex and will sell factory seconds, pre-production models, trade show samples from W. A. Mitchell. SugarWood artisans will be invited to use the space to move their surplus production at a reduced price, he said.

The Maxhams have also established the practice of displaying and selling local artists' paintings. The idea is so popular that the display space is now booked with a different artist each month through 2012 and reservations are being taken for 2013, Maxham said.

The first art show at SugarWood will feature Marjorie Austin of Farmington at the open house.

Furniture maker Gary Krause, owner of Native Woods, has been a SugarWood co-op member since the project started. He said Maxham's purchase of SugarWood comes at an opportune time since the cooperative's membership has dwindled and some members are retiring.

"We were running out of owners to work in the gallery. Dan has been a member and was very familiar with the operation, and I think this change will work out really well," he said on Friday.

Krause is leaving SugarWood to pursue a new marketing direction and will move his Native Woods' "live-edge" furniture line to a new space he will share with Aardvark Outfitters owner Bob Dionne. The outdoor recreational gear store at 108 Fairbanks Road in Farmington caters to the same demographic, Krause said, and by sharing costs, both businesses could benefit from each other's presence.

Krause said he plans to sell another line of furniture at SugarWood.