Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Hatboro business owner Mandy Jesse shares how she began making shabby chic and primitive furniture before it was trendy.
Mandy Jesse describes herself as a "lumberjack" from eons ago. Her perpetually painted hands can no longer wear rings. And she loves it. "This is me," Jesse said with a smile. "Women have lipsticks in their handbags. I've got tape measures." The small-framed Jesse, 49, drives a cargo van, a pickup truck or a big box truck while scouting unwanted furniture, bric a brac and other random items that others view as garbage. "I trash pick. Dumpster dive is what I call it," she said. "I see something and I know I can make something into it." Early beginnings A native of England, Jesse has been making and re-purposing furniture since she was 7. "I'm daddy's little girl. I watched him and followed him," said Jesse from the workshop in her Hatboro …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Hatboro's Rina's Rocks, a jewel, gem and gift store, will be relocating to the former Salon on Main, which is twice the size.
Calling it a "leap of faith," Rina's Rocks owner Rina Elyce is planning to close her current store later this month and open a new one twice its size. The new, 2,200-square-foot space formerly housed by Salon on Main offers more than additional room to house Elyce's 23-year collection of thousands of rocks, crystals, gems and unique jewelry. The bigger store, which Elyce is planning to open on May 1, will double as a "wellness center," according to her mother and assistant, Marcia Sklaroff. Besides expanding upon her current, but limited offerings of reiki, meditation, healing classes and angel card readings, the larger space will allow Elyce to display her goods in the front and offer multiple classes for more people, as well as health-…
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Trilogy Event Design, a wedding and event design business, is opening soon in Hatboro.
What comes to mind when you think about a a loved one–or yourself–planning a wedding? Gown. Wedding/reception venue. Food. Guests. Photographer. Videographer. But, would lighting, table settings, centerpieces, color and style coordination on everything from decor to invitations and overall wedding design rank high on your list? It would for Hatboro-based Trilogy Event Design, a brand-new, all-encompassing wedding and special event planning and design business set to open at the former Lacey Lady, 124 N. York Road next month. "That's what you get from a planner," General Manager Michael Magro Jr. said. "The idea behind Trilogy is to design the wedding and events from start to finish." Like its name implies, Trilogy is comprised of three …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A pair of long-time waitresses at Parkside Cafe and Catering in Horsham did not want to work for a new owner—so they bought the business.
In her 11 years waitressing at the restaurant most recently dubbed Parkside Cafe and Catering, Joy Bader has worked for a handful of owners, including her father and great uncle. When the most recent owner decided he no longer wanted to run what was previously known as Country Sampler, Bader was at a crossroads. "We didn't want to go through another owner," Bader said of herself and fellow waitress Judy Newcomb. So, the waitresses took the plunge, bought and remodeled the 92-seat eatery in September and renamed it Parkside Cafe and Catering. A collaborative business venture, Newcomb said her husband chipped in $5,000, she added $3,00 and Bader contributed several thousand to take the helm of, and spruce up the restaurant, which is tucked …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Specialized iPad Services, a new technology learning lab in Hatboro, incorporates iPad applications into students' individualized educational plans.
When she realized that her son Stefan's developmental disability prevented him from speaking, Karen Velocci set out to give him a voice. That was 10 years ago. Today, Stefan, now 16, uses applications on his iPad to communicate, or to make requests for a glass of iced tea, Velocci, formerly of Hatboro, told Patch. The lure of games, music, and Youtube videos–with the proper parental controls and supervision–has also encouraged an otherwise unsociable Stefan to roller skate, ice skate and to feel "comfortable in social situations." "It's a great way to give him a voice," Velocci, of Newtown, added of her son Stefan, a Council Rock student. "This gives him the confidence. It helps build his social skills." Velocci, who has a technology …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Taylor's Treasure Chest, one of Hatboro's newest retailers, features a vast array of antiques, collectibles, knick knacks and more.
When Charles and Jeanne Stamets first opened their antiques and collectibles store, it was out of necessity. Jeanne, two years ago, had been out of work and the Roslyn couple needed the extra income that a store could bring in. Fast forward two years and both are employed full-time. Yet, the need to have a store still persists. “When we travel, we stop at all the antiques stores,” Charles said from the family’s 1-week-old shop, Taylor’s Treasure Chest, at 216 S. York Road in Hatboro. “That got us into it.” Their collections hang from the ceiling, line bookshelves and fill glass cases at the register in the 800-square-foot shop along Hatboro’s main street. Treasures range from rare coins, glass soda bottles, paintings, vintage Barbie …
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Lesson Advantage, an interactive, systemized approach to teaching young kids how to play guitar, is offered at DeLuca Music in Hatboro.
Michael Forget is learning to play guitar to a popular Adele song that has no guitar instrumentation. No matter for 9-year-old Michael, or his instructor, Jordan Strauss, director of Lesson Advantage, a systemized, interactive method of teaching kids ages 7 to 12 to play their favorite songs on guitar. Using an iPad and a Mac computer, Strauss, 30, of Hatboro, slows down and simplifies popular songs, like Adele’s “Set Fire to Rain,” claps out the beats, has his students play along, one riff at a time and adds plenty of positive reinforcement throughout. “I’m trying to completely break the mold,” Strauss said after a recent lesson with Michael. “Everybody should have the opportunity to succeed at a musical instrument.” Typically when …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Karen Hluchan, a 1991 Hatboro-Horsham High School graduate, connects clients with deceased loved ones.
Karen Hluchan meets new people—both living and dead—constantly through her profession. A full-time marketing manager whose long-held gift for channeling spirits was recently reawakened, Hluchan never knows who she will come in contact with from one day to the next. "I've had a spirit come eight hours before a reading," Hluchan, a 1991 Hatboro-Horsham High School graduate said during an interview in her Horsham home. "They were eager people in life." And Hluchan, who has began doing tarot card readings in 1993, said that even in death, people stay the same. "Your spirit, who you are, never changes," she said, while pointing to her body. "This is just a shell. It's housing our spirit." Early beginnings A lover of horoscopes, tarot cards, …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Chris Gowen, the owner of Hatboro's A Dog's Life (And a Cat's Too) will close the store for good on Jan. 31.
Before there was Famous Footwear or the Men's Wearhouse, Chris Gowen recalls when Len's Shoe Box and Jules Pilch were the go-to shops in Hatboro. Gowen, 52, a lifelong Hatboro resident - except for his first year of life in Ambler - remembers when Victorian houses dotted the borough, Jack's Clothing, and Woolworth were situated where current borough mainstays like Cafe La Fontana currently reside. "That's when those guys ruled the roost," Gowen said, adding that he remembers decades ago when traffic cops were stationed at Williams and York roads on Friday nights helping to direct traffic. "People didn't come into town to do events. They came into town to go shopping." When asked what caused the shift, Gowen, who had worked for several …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Hatboro's 40-acre business complex, Station Park, switched ownership late last year and the new overseers envision changes on the horizon.
Upon visiting the massive, 40-acre Station Park office complex in Hatboro, visitors are greeted by countless doors leading into the eight different businesses anchoring the site. A main entrance is missing, meaning those unfamiliar with the site are likely to circle about the sprawling parking lot, unsure of where to go. Creating a “focal entrance” is one of many items on a somewhat lengthy to-do list for Alliance Partners, a private real estate investment firm that purchased Station Park for $9 million last month. Prior to the land transfer, Station Park had been in foreclosure and faced an uncertain future. Station Park upgrades Matt Handel, who oversees Alliance’s leasing and acquisition, said a roughly 100,000-square-foot space – about…
Cora Rowe
7:48 pm on Thursday, April 18, 2013
Shabby chic is really in!! Loved the story Theresa and the pics. Thanks more ›