THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 11, 1994 TAG: 9409090300
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY CAROLE O'KEEFFE, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: FRANKLIN LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
TWO BUSINESSES HAVE MOVED into spaces formerly occupied by Standard Drug, and a hair salon also has located downtown.
Needles & Pins is returning to the central business district after about eight months at Southampton Shopping Center. Mary A. ``Nan'' Evans had originally opened on 3rd Avenue in 1989.
Next-2-New, which sells new and used merchandise, moved just a few doors down from its 202 N. Main St. address. New spaces in the completely renovated former drug store are as much as three times larger than the old one, owner Toby A. Gross says.
And two hair stylists who met in an area salon fewer than two years ago have become 50/50 partners in their own parlor: Styles Unlimited, at 105 W. 4th Ave. Needles & Pins
Owner Nan Evans has been sewing for 30 of her 50 years.
She calls herself a needle artist. Even as a child, she says, she ``made pretty things out of scraps of this and that and the other,'' first learning embroidery at 5 from her grandmother.
Evans grew up in northern Wisconsin and ``had more animals than dolls.'' So her creations often ended up on the farm's animals. She put ``hats on the calves and cows and had a long line of long-suffering pets.''
While Evans can make inexpensive formal gowns for brides and bridesmaids to compete with rack or custom gowns in larger cities, she says she offers a ``small-town atmosphere with quality that is just as good, if not better.''
Evans will also design gowns to customers' specifications and will make them to fit.
``No one is the same size all over,'' she says.
She also designs headpieces with and without veils. Cost depends on the intricacy of the work. The least elaborate gowns sell for as little as $275, plus material.
Evans has two employees: Her daughter, Rena P. Evans, manages the retail part of the store where notions, fabric, craft supplies and handmade giftware are sold. And Pat Morris is a seamstress who specializes in custom-sewn home furnishings such as window treatments, pillows and cushions. Both are experienced in dress-making and home furnishings.
Evans' new spaces are about twice the size of her shopping center store. She is expanding her inventory to make best use of the increased display room.
While she has sewn professionally for most of her life, Evans opened her first store in 1989 at 119 W. 3rd Ave. She closed in 1992 and took a break before reopening Jan. 3 at the shopping center.
The main reasons she returned to downtown, she says, are lower rent and more space - plus, she remembered the helpfulness of the downtown development group when she first located downtown.
``I had also forgotten the camaraderie,'' she said. ``I enjoy being back. It's definitely a different pace.''
Evans wants her customers to feel welcome to come in and chat.
``Mainly we're trying very hard to have a shop where people feel free to come in and browse, see what's new,'' Evans said. ``Lots of times the conversations have nothing to do with sewing.''
She also plans to offer classes, from basic to advanced, in sewing, folk art and crafts.
Evans plans to take homemade crafts on consignment, ``to give local artists a place to display'' what they make.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Next-2-New
Next-2-New has moved into the former Standard Drug Store, right beside Needles & Pins.
Toby Gross, 56, sells nearly new and some new clothing for men, women and children, plus knickknacks, jewelry and small household items.
She gets her inventory by buying what people bring to her. She goes out of town to buy new clothing.
In her former store space, Gross says she ``couldn't even walk around the racks,'' space was so tight. Now she will be able to better display her goods - and add merchandise.
Gross had wanted to own a good, quality thrift store for 10 years, she said. The building up the street got her started.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.Hours: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Styles Unlimited
Janet M. Story, 28, and Elizabeth D. ``Beth'' Sackett, 29, became friends while working at a local beauty parlor.
They now have made a pact as partners in their own shop, at 105 W. 4th Ave.
They had never owned a business before, working only in the shops of others.
``I always wanted to own my own shop,'' Story said.
Sackett, too.
``We met and formed a friendship,'' Sackett said. ``We have the same interests in the hair business, wanted the same things out of the business - be our own bosses, set our own schedules.''
Both do haircuts and perms and facial hair removal with wax. They are in the process of hiring a manicurist.
Their shop offers service without appointments.
``We have had a good response from that,'' Story said. ``People can just stop in.''
Hours: Monday through Friday, plus extended hours Thursday evening by appointment; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Nan Evans has moved her shop, Needles and Pins, from a shopping
center to a new location - the 200 block of Main St. in downtown
Franklin. Her first store was on 3rd Avenue.
by CNB