Style Matters
Fly over to Birds for a rockin’ cut in a cool space
Austin American-Statesman (subscription), TX
South Austin has a new rock ‘n’ roll barbershop. Birds Barbershop was conceived by owners Michael Portman and Jayson Rapaport, childhood friends from Laredo, as an affordable alternative to salons and a local alternative to chains. The name Birds, slang for females, was chosen to offset the masculine connotations of a barbershop. It caters to both genders, takes no appointments and cranks up the music. The shop’s interior was designed by “The Real World: Austin” house designer Joel Mozersky
The highlight is the 40-foot screen-printed mural created by Door Number 3 Art Director Bryan Keplesky and installed by Sleepy Giant, aka Satch Grimley and Jaime Cervantes. Prices start at $15 for a buzz or mohawk, $19 for a short cut, $25 and up for a “Rock Star” layered cut, and $12 for kids younger than 12. Shampoos cost $5 and coloring starts at $50. The “Lady Bird” special for women includes a shampoo, cut and blowout for $39. Birds is at 2110 S. Lamar Blvd. Open seven days a week. Visit www.birdsbarbershop.com or call 442-8800 for more information.
Jewelry designer gets cover exposure
Susan Domelsmith, designer of Dirty Librarian Chains, a jewelry line known for seemingly haphazard jumbles of vintage chains and pendants, left Austin for New York this year, and her star is rising fast. One of her necklaces was modeled on the June/July cover of Teen Vogue by Lauren Conrad, star of “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills.” Factory People, where Domelsmith used to work as a buyer, remains the exclusive retailer of Dirty Librarian Chains in Austin. Prices are $24-$210. The Renew necklace, which has an iridescent shell pendant, is $170. Factory People is at 1325 S. Congress Ave.
A box with benefits
Do you need a spot to stash your pink breast cancer awareness pin? Pier 1 Imports, for the second year in a row, is offering the Komen Jewelry Box. The soft pink, raw silk box is adorned with Capiz shell buttons and a glass bead tassel clasp. The two-level jewelry box retails for $30, and Pier 1 will donate 25 percent of the purchase price to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Give from your heart at El Corazón
Cacti, like Austinites, thrive in the heat. The boutiques of El Corazón present their First Annual Cactus and Succulent Show from noon to 8 p.m Saturday. A large selection of plants from the Southwest and beyond, as well as paintings, pottery, clothing and photography inspired by cacti, will be featured. The shops will also serve Mexican food and drinks. Suggested donations and proceeds from the concessions will benefit the Sims Foundation, a nonprofit organization for the mental health and welfare of Austin’s musicians. El Corazón is at 2209 S. First St. For more information, contact Happiness boutique at 440-8600.
Have a major fixer-upper? Talk to TV show
This TV season, the experts at “Ask This Old House” are making house calls in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Sacramento, Denver and Boston, plus one mystery location in September. Austin could be the mystery location, provided residents from this area submit the best questions to the “This Old House” Web site at www.thisoldhouse.com. The city with the “most compelling home maintenance problems” will be selected as the sixth location visited by the “Ask This Old House” crew. Entries must be submitted no later than June 30.
jscheidnes@statesman.com; 445-3974; mspencer@statesman.com; 912-2519
June 22nd, 2006
Carla Gizzi’s Jewelry & Home Studio - Red Bank’s ‘girlie shop’
BY TONY SENK
Correspondent
Red Bank Hub, USA
In this day and age, when so many businesses proclaim their appeal to all people, everywhere, all the time - Carla Gizzi, owner of Carla Gizzi’s Jewelry and Home Studio at Riverbank Antiques in Red Bank, is a breath of fresh air.
“Oh, I love it when men come in to look around and shop,” said Carla, of Tinton Falls, “but my studio is designed primarily with women in mind. Most of my customers are women - young moms looking for jewelry or gifts for their mom or their friends, or for items to uniquely decorate their daughter’s room. I’m pretty sure I have the only real ‘girlie shop’ in town!”
At Carla’s studio, custom jewelry and eclectic home decor items abound. From the wide assortment of bracelets and cast-iron wall switches to the shabby chic and cottage-style home decor, most of the items at her studio have an antique feel to them - with a decidedly feminine flair and flavor.
“This is not your typical shop,” said Carla. “Not many shops look like this one. We’re perfectly positioned right at Riverbank Antiques because most of the items I carry are vintage-inspired and have an antique look. Most people like these touches of vintage home decor, and they fit nicely into most homes.”
Items at Carla’s studio can range in price from a few dollars into the hundreds.
After working for years in Manhattan as a jewelry designer, Carla made her move to Riverbank Antiques and later became a manager there.
“I started here 11 years ago, not long after Riverbank first opened,” she said. “I had a small shop back then, and I specialized mostly in vintage jewelry. Then, I started buying home decor items, and adding my mosaic work to pieces, which I’ve continued and expanded over the last ten years. Last September, when this building became available, I figured it was time to go for it, so I opened the studio here. So far, everything has gone pretty well”
One reason why things are going well is because she is a talented buyer, with an eye for items that her customers like.
“Many of my most loyal customers are young women,” she said, “and, over the years, I’ve had a number of them tell me, ‘You have the same taste as I do’ or that ‘You have a good eye for buying.”
Carla keeps those eyes peeled for eclectic jewelry and cottage-style painted furniture. She often later adds her unique and original mosaics to the furniture to “give the piece a bit of its original character.”
Carla’s studio is dotted with unique clocks, chandeliers, pillows, picture frames and cast-iron switch plates made from antique molds. Her attention-grabbing front window frequently catches the eye of the shopper looking for that one unique gift for a unique friend.
And, all of these unique items are not just for sale during daytime business hours because Carla offers after- hours private parties at her studio.
“The after-hours parties feature fun and shopping and wine and cheese,” said Carla. “Basically, it’s girls’ night out! Friends can shop together and they have the entire shop to themselves. Shoppers can also go over to the antique shops at Riverbank next door. And, after-hours shopping often fits in better with their busy work schedules.”
Currently, hot-selling items at her shop include chests, mirrors and picture frames featuring Carla’s mosaics. Another group of items that Carla says, sell like crazy, are old-fashioned enamel signs with inspirational, feel-good messages on them. Some contain just one-word messages, such as “Believe” or “Imagine,” while others show full quotes from famous folks like Ralph Waldo Emerson or Eleanor Roosevelt.
Carla Gizzi’s Jewelry and Home Studio is open every day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on the studio or on hosting an after-hours party there call (732) 450-0122 or visit the Web site, carlagizzi@comcast.net.
June 22nd, 2006
Scripps to sell Shop At Home network assets to Jewelry
Reuters
June 21 (Reuters) - The E.W. Scripps Co. (SSP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday said it has agreed to sell certain assets of the Shop At Home television network to Jewelry Television.
Jewelry Television will pay $17 million for the fixed assets of the television network, the broadcaster and newspaper publisher said.
Scripps also lowered its estimated second-quarter after-tax charge to between $35 million and $45 million, compared with $60 million projected previously. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy in Bangalore)
June 22nd, 2006
