Lexington, KY - After six months of renovations on the formerly graffiti-covered structure, the butter-yellow building with black-striped awnings that houses recently opened The Great Dames has captured the attention of many Liberty Road commuters.
But the addition of the new upholstery and design shop marks another less noticeable but still noteworthy transformation - a developing cluster of Liberty Road businesses focused on home furnishings and decor.
"We've sort of become a little destination for home design," said Sheila Hancock, interior designer and co-owner of The Great Dames, which opened in late April. In addition to The Great Dames, the nearby strip of retail shops includes the well-established furniture consignment store Room Service, the year-old antique shop Scout Antiques & More, and long-standing carpet store Mathis Carpets.
The total overhaul of The Great Dames' retail space has become the business' best advertising investment to date, according to co-owner Donna Spaulding.
"We've had neighbors come to us and say, 'We want to make our houses look as cute as your shop,'" Spaulding said.
And The Great Dames' arrival has also been welcomed by other business owners on the block, not only as a wonderful improvement to the neighborhood but also as a logical strategic positioning of complementary business services.
"The biggest difference on the street, visually, has been that building. It was amazing," said Jeff Perkins, co-owner of Scout Antiques. "It's a great synergy with all of us here together."
That synergy was one of the factors that drew Hancock, along with her business partners Lauren West and Donna Spaulding, to the Liberty Road location.
"People were always looking for fabric when they walked out that door," Hancock said of the customers at Room Service, which is right next door to The Great Dames.
The Great Dames owners had been clients at Room Service themselves prior to opening their store. They met while collaborating on a design project for West and eventually decided to take the next step by launching a full-design house together, offering fabrics, trim, custom drapery and upholstery, along with monogramming and accessories. The Great Dames has also created a full-service workroom in the back of its store that is open to the public and independent designers. The idea, Hancock said, is to offer people the space to work on their own projects, with access to professional design advice and expertise in house if they need it.
"We also want to provide a home for freelance designers to work through us on a cost-plus basis," said Hancock, who previously worked as a design consultant for Norwalk Furniture and also ran her own business, Sheila Hancock Designs, prior to the opening of The Great Dames.
Many of the customers at The Great Dames so far have been regulars from Room Service and Scout Antiques, said Hancock. The neighboring businesses have also been generous with their ideas and advice, in addition to making their clientele aware of the services The Great Dames provides.
Perkins and his business partner, Greg Feeney, know what it's like to be the new business on the block. When Scout Antiques first opened its doors in May 2009, Room Service's owner, Julie Selby, was among the shop's biggest promoters, Feeney said, suggesting to her customers that they should take a moment to browse next door.
"It really makes you feel good when people root for you that way," Feeney said.
Perkins and Feeney had also been regular customers at Room Service before opening their business. The pair had dabbled in antiques for years and maintained an antiques booth at the Lexington shop Feather Your Nest before deciding to take the plunge as full-fledged business owners. Perkins had opted for a buyout from his career as a marketing supervisor and customer service manager at the Lexington Herald-Leader. Feeney is a full-time faculty member at Bluegrass Community and Technical College.
Their goal for Scout Antiques is to maintain an eclectic mix of items that is attractive to a variety of tastes and price ranges, with a rapid turnover rate for inventory to keep things interesting for their shoppers.
Scout Antiques also carries an assortment of original and local art. From the paintings of local artist Fred Pizzuro to the work of jewelry maker Susan Reinhardt to the sketches of artist Henry Faulkner, Feeney and Perkins go out of their way to highlight items that hold strong connections to the community.
"We didn't want to be an antique store that spoke to just one interest," Feeney said. "You can walk in here and find something for two or three dollars, or find something for $5,000."
The rapid turnover mentality at Scout Antiques fits well with the business philosophy of neighboring Room Service, which will mark its 16th year at the Liberty Road location next month. The store began with one space in the small retail strip, but it has since expanded to encompass two additional storefronts and a total of 9,000 square feet.
"Its just proved to be a really good location for us," Selby said.
The space currently occupied by Scout Antiques, formerly leased to a floor-covering shop, remained empty for a year and a half before Perkins and Feeney decided to open their shop. Selby said the similarities between Scout Antiques and her store have made them a good fit.
"They are like us," Selby said. "Our stuff changes every day. It keeps it new and fresh, and it keeps people wanting to come."
The addition of The Great Dames has brought its advantages as well, according to Selby.
Selby said it has been convenient for her customers to have the benefit of professional upholstery advice right next door, and the owners at The Great Dames have been willing to offer fabric yardage estimates for projects and other suggestions to Room Service customers who are considering a purchase. Selby has developed relationships with many local professional upholstery services over the years, she said, and there is room in the market for more.
"When you talk to the good ones, they are always so busy," she said.
Room Service has built a network of roughly 5,000 consignors, with about 1,000 active sellers at any given time. Some consign as a business, and others are simply trying to divest themselves of furnishings that no longer fit their lifestyles. Some consign for credit at the store, which they use to purchase other Room Service offerings.
"The most rewarding part has been how many regular people we have come to know and develop relationships with," Selby said. "Those relationships with people are what serve you well - a lot more than the dollars and cents of any given day."
And Selby doesn't view it as added competition when some of those "regular people" become business neighbors.
"Since Scout has moved here and then The Great Dames, that has made it more of a destination. (Feeney and Perkins) are both so energetic, and I think we needed that," Selby said. "It's good to have them there. I think any time you have more businesses together, that just helps everyone."
And Selby has found a few treasures of her own among the inventory at Scout Antiques, including some pink flamingos for her patio and cufflinks for her husband.
"There's quite a few things I've found over there," Selby said.
Building a critical mass of retail options makes the location more appealing to shoppers, Feeney said.
"When I go someplace to look, I'm much more likely to shop if I know there are a couple of stores there," Feeney said.
The owners of both Scout Antiques and The Great Dames said that opening a new business during a down economy involved a lot of uncertainty, but so far they have not been disappointed.
"We took a real risk," Perkins said. "We've been fortunate that we've really developed a following. We've been extremely lucky to have the kind of success we've had in the first year."
Feeney and Perkins have looked to interact with the community by hosting events at Scout Antiques that are not traditionally associated with antique shops, such as book signings and wine tastings, and by supporting local organizations ranging from the Woodford County Humane Society to the Henry Clay High School golf team.
While the owners of The Great Dames have invested a lot of time and effort into making their new digs attractive and noticeable, they are also working to be seen as approachable and appealing to a wide variety of clients.
"I think a lot of the time there's an intimidation factor involved in walking into a design house," Hancock said. "But we'll (redecorate) your dorm room or your horse farm."
While consignment shops sometimes feel a business boost in a down economy, Selby said that Room Service has remained fairly steady in recent years. The prices of her consignment items are a bit lower than they have been in years past, she said, but recently she has seen an upsurge in calls from people with furniture to sell. Selby sees that as a positive sign for the economy, because many of her customers typically are changing residences and looking to upgrade their furnishings to suit their new homes.
Whatever the future economy brings, the owners of these Liberty Road businesses see some added strength in numbers. Selby said she never envisioned that the strip she has occupied for so long would develop into any kind of shopping cluster for home furnishings and design.
"I think sometimes the best way is just to see where life takes you," Selby said. "I feel like we're established, and they are going to be established. There's plenty of business for us all."