Only a few businesses inspire such fierce loyalty that their customers tattoo the name of the company on their bodies. Harley-Davidson comes to mind as one. Another is Moog Music, local manufacturers of legendary keyboard synthesizers and effects pedals for various instruments.
“We have photos that people send us of their Moog tattoos,” said company president Mike Adams, who doesn't have one. Yet.
Although the room was at capacity and some might have had an obstructed view, no one left the Doughnuts and Dialogue session last week without a clear understanding of Biltmore Farms’ vision for Biltmore Park Town Square. The vision of Jack Cecil for Biltmore Park: “It is all about creating a community, communities like we knew as children, where families can work, shop and recreate without leaving their neighborhood.”
"We will be to Western North Carolina what the Aquarium is to Atlanta" - Joe Brumit, Board Chairman, The Health Adventure
Asheville’s historic Biltmore Village has seen a surge in growth over the past year. Much of this growth has to do with the retail and commercial property development by Hill Partners. Hill Partners is a commercial real estate firm that specializes in shopping center and mixed use developments. Hill Partners has recently brought Curtis Williams in to manage the property and their future plans for development in Biltmore Village. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Curtis last week and interview him on the future of Biltmore Village and what plans Hill Partners has for the area.GET YOUR HOLIDAY GROOVE ON WITH SEASONAL SIZZLE
-- Asheville Announces 21 Days of Not-So-Silent Nights --
Holiday nights in downtown Asheville get a glitzy makeover this December with Asheville Seasonal Sizzle: 21 days of not-so-silent nights. Merrymakers will enjoy free fireworks, live entertainment, seasonal appetizer specials at local restaurants, and extended hours of evening shopping in downtown Asheville’s eclectic boutiques and craft galleries.
Weekend firework displays–Seasonal Sizzle at Seven–will take place on Saturdays, Dec. 6, 13 and 20 at 7 p.m. in downtown Asheville. Participating independent restaurants will feature “Appy Hour” appetizer specials on Thursdays, Dec. 1 through 21 from 5 to 7 p.m. Local restaurants will also offer “Sizzle Specials” on the Saturday evenings with fireworks (Dec. 6, 13 and 20).
Asheville visitors will receive a warm holiday welcome as “Downtown Docent” guides walk the downtown streets directing guests to Seasonal Sizzle festivities, holiday happenings and other points of interest.
After the fireworks, visitors are encouraged to enjoy live music, theater and dance performances including the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, Asheville Ballet’s Nutcracker and holiday theater performances at North Carolina Stage Company, Diana Wortham Theater and Asheville Community Theater.
Visit AshevilleSeasonalSizzle.com for details.
Calendar Briefs: Free & Fun 2008 Holiday Events
Free Events
Holiday Traditions
The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, Advanced Business Equipment, and the Advocates for Small Business will present the 2008 Sky High Growth Award to 62 small businesses that have experienced outstanding growth in sales and/or employment over the last several years. These 62 businesses collectively represent over $300 million in sales, over 2400 full-time jobs, and over 800 part-time jobs.
The Small Business of the Month for November is Lynne Harty Photography near downtown Asheville. Lynne Harty began her business in Asheville as a solopreneur in 2000. Lynne Harty became a commercial photographer after graduating from college in 1984 in Atlanta. Like many entrepreneurs, Lynne moved to Asheville for the wonderful quality of life. She was hired by Mobilia to create a series of fine art prints which reflected the “look” of Asheville, and a similar series of colorful imagery is now in demand by other cities that are attempting to create or define a special “look” of their own.
Currently, Lynne has a show featuring some new directions in her fine art work at Mobilia on Haywood St. in downtown Asheville. Lynne donates many of her art prints for fund raisers for a variety of organizations. The Chamber has been the recipient of her work and has featured her photography on the covers of several issues of the Asheville Magazine.
The Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries International, the nation's two largest charitable resale organizations, report year-to-date sales increases of 6 percent to 15 percent.
The gains are even more pronounced in the private sector. In an industry trade group survey of more than 200 resale and thrift shops, nearly two-thirds of those businesses reported higher sales in 2008 compared to the previous year. The average sales increase: 35 percent.
Consumers "can't change the price of gas. They can't change the price of food. They can't make the stock market go up again," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops. "But they can control the price of clothes and furniture by being a savvy shopper."
The Salvation Army store in Dublin, Ga., located halfway between Atlanta and Savannah, has seen its sales increase by 50 percent this year, said store operator Gary Spivey. The comparative affluence of his new customers is obvious.
"We're seeing a lot more middle-class and upper-class customers we haven't seen before," he said. "Without even asking, you can just look in the parking lot (at their cars)."
Savers Inc., a for-profit thrift store chain based in Bellevue, Wash., has had a 10 percent growth rate, said chief executive officer Ken Alterman. The company now has 220 Savers and Value Village stores in the United States, Canada and Australia, and expects to open 25 new stores in each of the next several years.
According to Alterman, 75 percent of the company's customers are college educated, with an average income between $50,000 and $65,000. Thirty percent of its customers have household incomes exceeding $100,000, he said.
Some of the chain's most successful stores are in Redmond, Wash., home to Microsoft; the high-end waterfront in Victoria, British Columbia; and the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
"We're in these beautiful neighborhoods, and the stores just thrive," Alterman said. "We hold up well in this economy."
Widespread economic turmoil and personal financial struggles aren't the only factors driving the increased interest in resale retail, experts say. A growing "green" ethos among American consumers has also propelled the industry.
"People are really savvy now," said Angie Heidenreich, owner of LuLu's Consignment Boutique in Fletcher, N.C. "With consignment you make money, you save money and you recycle. It's a no-brainer."
Heidenreich opened her consignment store - which essentially serves as a middleman for customers who want to buy and sell clothes - in November, 2006. Sales increases of nearly 100 percent forced her to more than triple the store's size to keep up with demand.
"We're getting more people in who probably wouldn't have stepped in the door," she said. "It's more acceptable now than it was in the past. The image of thrift stores were kind of grungy, dingy places. Now some of them are like boutiques."
In the Missouri college town of Columbia, both Goodwill and The Salvation Army report recent sales increases of roughly 25 percent.
April Hayes, a 28-year-old legal secretary, has shopped at the Columbia Goodwill store for six months at the urging of her mother and sister. During a recent weekday lunch break, she combed the store's racks in search of business attire.
"I've gotten addicted," she said. "You can pay $2 or $3 for the same thing that would cost you $400 at the mall."
The surge in thrift store sales has its downside, though. The Salvation Army reports a dangerous decline in donations. Just as consumers are now more likely to buy secondhand goods, they are also less likely to get rid of their used clothing or furniture.
"We rely heavily on consumer culture," said spokeswoman Melissa Temme. "People are finding that the couch can last a little longer. The suit, while it may not be perfect for this year's fashion, is fine."
Money earned at its thrift stores helps fund the agency's adult rehabilitation program. So while administrators are thrilled at the growing revenue, they also fear an inventory shortage.
"At some point it's going to come to a head," Temme said. "If donations continue to stay down, we're going to lack items to sell."
As a result, The Salvation Army is rolling out a national ad campaign in January - the first in its 128-year history in this country.
New customers aside, thrift shops continue to attract a devoted cadre of bargain-hunters. Now that more traditional shoppers have been exposed to the secondhand market, its boosters don't expect that renewed interest to taper off anytime soon.
"People always love a bargain," Meyer said. "Nowadays, it's just more necessary."
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
Years ago, before downtown Asheville became known for its art galleries, there was a time when an artist couldn’t find a place to hang his hat, much less his art.Much of downtown was boarded up. There were only a couple of art galleries open. So in 1988, artist Jim Morgan organized 30 other artists and opened the Asheville Gallery of Art, this year celebrating its 20th anniversary, in the same location it occupied 20 years ago — 16 College St.
The current 28 members of the co-op gallery are gathering 1-5 p.m. Sunday to celebrate. The public is invited.
“Just about everyone has come and gone,” Cathy Searle, a resident of Beverly Hills, said of her fellow founding members. The gallery was a big idea in its days, she said. “Jim was excited about the idea and got us all pretty excited,” she said.
Each member has 8 feet of wall space to display his or her work (as well as the responsibility to man the shop one day each month). Each 8-foot display area has its own look, affording visitors a quick overview of some of the city’s two-dimensional artists.
“It has certainly given me the opportunity to have my work where the community can see it on an ongoing basis,” watercolor painter Ann Vasilik said.
Not having galleries to show in when she and her husband moved to Asheville in 1988 was a frustration, she said.
“In other parts of the country, there was a show to be entered or an organization to be joined just every other block, especially in California, where we had lived,” she said.
For six years, Vasilik ran the fine arts show at the old Biltmore Dairy property near the Biltmore Estate. The show provided one of the few opportunities for artists in the area.
That made the Asheville Gallery of Art all the more appealing to artists and people who wanted to buy original work, Vasilik said.
One of the things she loves most about it is the camaraderie the gallery makes possible among the member artists.
She also loves that it gives them an opportunity to meet people who love art.
“We artists love nothing better than to talk art to other people,” she said.
Asheville Gallery of Art Website
The Small Business of the Month for October is Mail Management Services, LLC located in Asheville. Mail Management was established in 1998 and has grown to a staff of seventeen.
Mail Management provides full mailing services including collating, envelope insertions, addressing and postage as well as pick up and delivery for certain jobs. They are currently expanding their print capabilities.
The company serves as a model for mail services in other cities such as Charlotte and Denver, providing guidance and instruction for their employees. Mail Management supports numerous non-profits with donations or in-kind work.
Next week will be a busy week for networking in Asheville with both Business Before and After Hours taking place. Business After Hours presented by Clear Channel Asheville will part from its normal Thursday time for a special Tuesday edition hosted by Clear Channel Asheville. Business After Hours will take place on Tuesday, September 23 at 5:30. The rescheduled Business Before Hours presented by BB&T will be held on Thursday, September 25 at 8 a.m. at the new Capital Bank location on Market Street in downtown Asheville.
