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Clothes Encounters
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Sales associate Meredith Hickerson and store owner
Rebecca Champagne match accessories to a fur-
lined denim jacket at Bellini.
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When the need -- or the yen -- for something
new to wear arises, Bellini (474 Metairie Road, Metairie, 835-2021) prides
itself on having something to satisfy everyone, from teenagers and college girls
to hip moms and career women. It also endeavors to be a relaxed, one-stop shopping
experience where, in addition to dressing themselves, they also can dress their
homes with a select assortment of furniture and decorative accessories. All of
this in a shop that's easily accessible, has its own parking and emphasizes friendly
customer service.
Opening a Metairie store with a combination
of trendy yet sophisticated fashion and home wares was a natural outgrowth of
owner Rebecca Champagne's own style and experience. After graduating with a
degree in interior design from LSU, the Houma native learned the ropes of fashion
retail from her sister, who has a clothing store in Baton Rouge. Now a Metairie
resident, Champagne signed a lease for her Metairie Road space in January of
this year and was able to open the doors to the public in just three months
by combining her merchandise orders with her sister's.
Bellini specializes in fashion-forward lines
including jeans by Seven, Citizens of Humanity, AG and Paper Denim, casual wear
by BCBG, ABS, and Parameter, T-shirts by Michael Stars and C & C California,
and dresses by Robin Jordan, Ruth, Milly and Dress. To complete the looks it
offers, Bellini also carries new and vintage jewelry, fashion watches, purses,
belts, scarves and wraps (the clutch bracelet bags by Jewels and the vintage
tie belts by Nikki Chu are the shop's best-selling accessories du jour).
On the other side of the shop, there are gifts
designed to pamper and unique furnishings chosen to highlight the home. Customers
also will find baby gifts, tables made from vintage iron, handmade ceramic serving
pieces from Italy, and Edgar Berebi's luxury wine glasses, which feature such
materials as faceted Swarovski crystals, silver plate, 24-karat gold plate,
and mother of pearl.
"It's a convenience factor," Champagne says
of Bellini's one-stop approach. "You can come in and get an outfit for a party
as well as a cute gift. Metairie Road is a good location because it is central;
it's easy to get to from all areas of Metairie, it's five minutes from Lakeview,
downtown and Uptown, and it has tons to offer -- salons, boutiques, interiors
stores, coffee shops and shopping centers."
Creating a shopping experience that's easy
and pleasant is essential to Champagne's philosophy. "We know our customers
by name, and we know what they like to wear," she says.
A Christmas-and-more
Store
Donna Plaia and Tricia Porteous' decision to
open Das Schulerhaus (701 Dante St., suite C, 864-1201) was born out
of a love for the fragile beauty and timeless collectibility of German glass
Christmas ornaments.
Plaia began amassing a collection of the delicate
treasures in 1998 while visiting her son in Germany. She expanded it a year
later when she and her husband, a lieutenant colonel in the army, were stationed
in Holland. But a year and a half after the shop first opened for business,
locals are discovering that Das Schulerhaus is not just a Christmas store, but
rather a Christmas and gift shop in one, a destination where locals and tourists
alike can find a variety of gifts any time of the year.
"Recently we've been doing twice the amount
of business we were doing last year at this time," says Plaia. "People are beginning
to find us and to know that we're a homegrown business with fair and competitive
prices and that we're not just for Christmas."
Plaia and Porteous' extensive Christmas inventory
includes such ornament lines as Krebs Glas Lauscha, Old World Christmas, Varsovia,
Polonaise, Christopher Radko, Christborn, and Casa, as well as nutcrackers and
smokers (incense-burning nutcrackers) by Steinbach, wreaths, lights, tree skirts,
stockings and exclusive, locally-themed signature ornaments including a Mardi
Gras nutcracker and a saxophone Santa. Special-occasion pieces, such as wedding
ornaments and ornaments for Saints, Tulane and LSU fans also are part of the
regular mix; other items such as Halloween ornaments and candy gift baskets
for such special calendar dates as Valentine's Day are available seasonally.
The business partners also will create custom gift baskets with products of
your choosing.
One of the store's best-selling items is the
Lampe Berger line of French fragrance lamps created more than a century ago
and available today in numerous styles and scents. Shoppers also will find pewter
and ceramic tableware, scented candles, candlesticks, indoor-outdoor terracotta
angels, and baby gifts.
"We're here year 'round for your special ornament
needs," says Plaia. "But we're so much more than a Christmas store -- with unique
gifts, great candles and decorating ideas."
Worth the Wait
A minor fire has delayed the opening of this
area's first DeAngelos Italian restaurant (111 Veterans Memorial Blvd.,
Heritage Plaza, Metairie, 833-7331; www.deangelosmetairie.com),
but only by three days.
Owner Eric Brechtel says he pushed back the
scheduled opening from Tuesday (Dec. 16) to Friday (Dec. 19) to allow adequate
time for repairs and staff training. "Our standards are so high that we would
never settle for anything less than perfect," he says.
DeAngelos, which already operates successful
restaurants in Lafayette and Baton Rouge, will offer diners a range of pizza
and Italian dishes in a casual but upscale atmosphere. It will be open for lunch
and dinner daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and also offers a full bar. -- Kandace
Power Graves
| Shoptalk is a weekly feature that spotlights Gambit Weekly advertisers. |
Other Stories This Week in Features:
Cover Story
The Rest of the Story
Feature
Presents of Mind
Bridging the Gap
The Dead Zone
The Sporting Life
Blake Pontchartrain™
New Orleans Know-It-All
Other Stories by Lee Cutrone:
Feature 02 18 03
Feature 12 03 02
Shoptalk 12 03 02
Lee Cutrone Archives
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