|
| Periwinkle opens in La Piazza By Lewis Rutherfurd--[ lewis@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Thursday, May 17, 2007 4:46 PM PDT In a soothing blue room with antique display cases, open ceilings and the sound of a fountain in the background, another pair of young, ambitious partners are making a run at retail success in downtown Half Moon Bay. Periwinkle, in the La Piazza shopping center on Main Street, opened March 31 and, so far, a brisk tourist trade and reasonable rent have made the venture worthwhile, said co-owner Sharon Leung, 27. "This is our first shop, and it was a very spontaneous event," said Leung. But Leung and her partner, 25-year-old Harlid Mendoza, are familiar with the business and plan not only to stay but also to expand. They met while working at Nordstrom in the Hillsdale Shopping Center and both still put in shifts in the fashion jewelry department at the big Nordstrom in San Francisco. They came across the location while shopping on Main Street last year and noticed that two spots at La Piazza were available. It took the partners four months to decide to make a run at the location and a month and a half to put the store together, said Leung. Periwinkle is a very personal project. "Everything is locally made, and I'm the main jewelry designer," said Leung. Locally made in this case refers to the Bay Area. But Half Moon Bay artists are likely to be represented soon. "I really wanted a venue for local artists to expand their business," said Leung, who was born and raised in San Francisco. "We've been getting Half Moon Bay artists walking in all the time." Leung's pieces tend toward pottery shard pendants and hand-picked beads, forming chunky, colorful necklaces. She also uses Thai silver pendants and, in some cases, clusters of brilliant red and green coral branches to make a spiky statement. "I like to do crazy pieces like my green coral," said Leung. "That's what draws people in because it's so weird looking." Mendoza makes more delicate jewelry with semi-precious stones. There are cards for sale featuring photographs taken by Leung's sister, a fourth-grade teacher in Pacifica, and tapestries and photographs are planned. "We are always looking for new people," said Leung. Leung has a degree in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She had always made jewelry for herself that friends would ask to buy, but that didn't stop the questions when she set sail on her current path. "People are always asking me why I'm in retail," she said. "But I really just enjoy it. Sociology is just the study of people and I'm around people all the time." A background in corporate retail and a studious approach is something Periwinkle's owners have in common with another pair of new businesswomen at Ink Spell Books on Kelly Avenue. Both of the recently opened stores became members of the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce and Visitors' Bureau right away. "It's very good insight on their part," said Michele McGrath, the chamber's director of sales and marketing. She noted that both sets of first-time owners had done their research and knew from experience how to run a store and work with people. Leung said the first month of business had been strong. "There's been a lot of turnover here," she said of local retail stores. "We want to stay, but we want to expand -mainly to San Francisco. That's our dream." |