New store sells sleek, contemporary, futuristic items.Byline: RETAIL NOTEBOOK By Edward Russo The Register-Guard Inspired by two previous employers, Nicole Miller Nicole Miller (born 1952, Lenox, Massachusetts) is an American fashion designer. Miller graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, studying at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture during her year. now is her own boss. A couple of months ago, Miller opened a store called Modern, which sells sleek, contemporary-looking furniture, home accessories, gifts and jewelry jewelry, personal adornments worn for ornament or utility, to show rank or wealth, or to follow superstitious custom or fashion. The most universal forms of jewelry are the necklace, bracelet, ring, pin, and earring. . Her store is near the Fifth Street Public Market in Eugene. Miller, 27, previously was manager of The Paper Garden on Pearl Street, which closed in 2002. Afterward, she worked at Passionflower passionflower, any plant of the genus Passiflora, mostly tropical American vines having pulpy fruits. Some species are grown in greenhouses for their large, unusual flowers of various colors; those seen by early Spanish settlers were interpreted as symbolic of Design on East Broadway. She credits Paper Garden owner Judy Murphy for encouraging her to develop her talents as a retailer, and Passionflower owner Jewel Murphy (no relation to Judy Murphy), for urging her to open Modern. Miller, long partial to contemporary design, said she started the business because Eugene lacked a store that specialized in personal and household items designed with futuristic flair. "People have had to go to Portland, Seattle or San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden to find the products that we have," she said. Her 1,700-square-foot store is in the space formerly occupied by the Vivace art gallery, in the Fifth and Pearl Building, near Jo Federigo's Restaurant & Jazz Club A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is live jazz. Often such venues are in the basement of residential buildings. They are rather small compared to other music venues, reflecting the intimate atmosphere of jazz concerts. . Modern cost about $70,000 to open, Miller said. More than half of the funding came from a $40,000 Small Business Administration-backed loan from Pacific Continental Bank. So far, Miller says, sales have been better than she expected. Jewelry, handbags and furniture are selling particularly well, she said. Her items aren't cheap. She sells only handmade jewelry Handmade jewelry is that which is crafted by hand, just as jewelry has been since it was very first created by humans. Unlike modern machine-made jewelry, no two pieces of handmade jewelry - even of the same design - will be identical. , for example, costing from $27 for a pair of enamel enamel, a siliceous substance fusible upon metal. It may be so compounded as to be transparent or opaque and with or without color, but it is usually employed to add decorative color. It was used to decorate jewelry in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. earrings to $120 for a silver necklace. Furniture ranges from a $175 glass-and-chrome dining table to a $4,000 Italian-made leather sofa. Miller has been running the store by herself, but she expects to hire help for the holiday shopping season. "Working seven days a week in a job you love, you really can't complain," she said. Another bite at the Apple When The Computer Store opened in downtown Eugene 20 years ago, it sold only Apple computers, but the name made sense. Back then, Apples were about the only personal computers available. The market is different today, so the store on West Eighth Avenue, next to the Parcade garage, recently changed its name to the Eugene Mac Store, a reference to Apple's Macintosh computers. "Everybody called us the Mac store anyway," general manager David Lacy The Very Revd Dr David William Lacy BA BD DLitt was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2005/6. He was born in Inverness, attended Aberdeen Grammar School from 1963 to 1965 and completed his schooling at the Glasgow High School. said. Lacy hopes the move will alter the store's reputation as savvy but snooty. "We've worked hard on changing that perception," Lacy said. "We're trying to get people to take another look at us." Retail Notebook runs Thursdays. |
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