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Show Saturday, July 15, 2000 A-18 The Park Record Marketplace Vintage Charm stocks classic items Gwendolyn's is the quilter's dream Park City business aims for middle-of-the-road buyers by Bruce Lewis OF THE RECORD STAFF Linda Anderson and her husband, hus-band, Ryan, own and operate Vintage Charm, an Old Town .hop that's been open on Main Street since the Thanksgiving holiday hol-iday weekend. "We also own Out of the Humidor. That's a shop specializing specializ-ing in more masculine decor. I wanted something more classic. a hat I call "vintage charm.'" Anderson explained. The storefront reminded me of the ones we would find occasionally occasion-ally in small-town Ohio: a one-person one-person operation, packed with an assortment of interesting items. Buyers venture in with the expectation expec-tation of finding one c. two items that will fit in, not furnishing the entire home. The Main Street shop includes furniture, accessories and dolls -lots of dolls - in an intentionally uncluttered setting, she explained. "My sister. Fjola Wilson, handles han-dles the dolls - we are both doll collectors." Anderson says. "The sign out front reads 'The Doll Loft' and that's what it is: the second sec-ond floor is full of dolls." "We stock a lot of things, but we purposely spread them out." she continued. "I want people to be able to visualize what the items would look like in their homes." One display case along the wall contains Hummel European figurines, fig-urines, another displays Fenton glass. The center aisle of the store is purposely kept open. "We are also child-, stroller-and stroller-and wheelchair-friendly. We keep the access wide, so there's plenty of room to look around without being crowded. And we try to keep some things in stock that w ill keep young children happy examining exam-ining them." Anderson said. The stock at Vintage Charm includes both antiques and things that look like antiques, but without with-out high price tags, a selection Anderson described as. "rare items, rare figurines, old furniture and new collectibles - all with an Old World European flavor." "There are a lot of fabulous home decorating stores in Park City, and a lot of them are high end. I wanted to target the middle-of-the-road customer who isnt willing to spend a lot to get nice things to decorate their homes," Anderson said. "We want the customer who is looking for alue, because I think he will find it at Vintage Charm. The store - located at 509 Main Street in Old Town Park City - is open from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Sunday from 1 1 a.m. until 6 p.m. . l - I V: . I ill y iff ..... - 1 ) I ' - fsr- V - J BRUCE LEWISPARK RECORD Linda Anderson operates Vintage Charm on Main street in Old Town. Among the items for sale is this Story and Clark reed organ - still fully functional - built between 1890 and 1900. VIE RETREAT thanks Park City locals for the great '99-2000 season and looks forward to serving you in the 2000-2001 season. w RETREAl Salon Day Spa Services You Deserve This Kind of Pampering n) V 3 w A COMPLETE EUROPEAN SALON DEVOTED TO HANDS, FEET, SKIN AND SPIRIT 1492 PARK AVENUE PARK CITY (435)649-6363 H - . ii - 9 I tiHUCE LtWlS RtCOhP Gwen Henley operates Gwendolyn's, a fabric and quilting supply store in Coalville. Offers variety, from quilting supplies to sewing machines by Bruce Lewis OF THE RECORD STAFF "I had never thought of opening a business before a few years ago. I had been an electronic technician, then a police officer for 13 years," said Gwendolyn Henley. Now she and her husband own and operate Gwendolyn's, selling quilting supplies, window coverings, cover-ings, fabrics, sewing machines and other sewing-related services. Her husband is Summit County Sheriff Sergeant Larry Henley. "I grew up sewing. As the middle mid-dle of seven children, I got a lot of hand-me-downs. If I wanted them to fit, I had to learn to sew," Henley smiled. She likes to make quilts, and that is what much of the stock at Gwendolyn's concentrates on, but not at the expense of other sewing specialties. "We sell all kinds of fabric for quilting, but the cottons can be used almost anywhere,"' she explained. "We also stock a number num-ber of different Polarfleece styles in season and probably have the biggest selection of juvenile flannels flan-nels in Northern Utah. I see people driving up from Salt Lake for the flannel selection." Gwendolyn's sells Husqvarna Viking sewing machines, and Henley also repairs most makes of machines. "I had told myself at first that 1 would never get into machine sales. When I looked around. I tried them all and decided I wouldn't sew on anything other than a Viking." Henley said. "I don't regret changing chang-ing my mind and 1 don't "egret selecting Viking." If a customer's machine needs heavier repairs, she can take it to a more extensive shop in Salt Lake City. "If I can't fix it. there's no charge. If I have to take it down there (to Salt Lake) then I charge what they charge me to repair it." Henley explained. She describes her sewing machine cleaning service. "Some people open it up. blow out the dust with compressed air and charge $65. When I clean a machine. I pull out all the pieces of fabric and thread and clean it manually. When I clean one. it's really clean." Henley said that quilters in the area are a varied lot. "There is no single popular design or style of quilts. The people peo-ple around here do it all - tied quilts, pieced quilts and a number of others." she explained. M.my quilters bring then woiks to Gwendolyn's to have their quilts stitched on the store's quilting machine. The process of stitching across the breadth of the cover holds the layers of fabric and batting bat-ting together as the quilt is used. Even though the temperatures reflect mid summer months. Henley's mind is on Christmas. "We will be getting a lot of our Christmas fabrics in the next two or three weeks and people will be coming in during late July, asking about our Christmas fabrics." she said. "They will get an early start on their holiday projects." Gwendolyn's also boasts the only blanket-edging machine in the area. Henley added. "It s a very quick gift to select a y ard-and-a-half of Polarfleece. put a blanket edging on il and give it as a throw," she said. "It's one of our more popular gifts." Gwendolyns is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Mondays. Fridays and Saturdays, and 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Tuesdays. Wednesdays and Thursdays. Errands sometimes force Monday opening later, so it's best to cail ahead on Monday mornings. Henley advised. 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