Shop Talk — August 2009

Shops stirring in the East Bay

Courtesy of Gillian Marie Flower Shoppe

Mom of three, Christine Alonso has taken over The Nurture Center in Lafayette. The founder of Tendercargo.com, an online store that specializes in natural baby products, says she looks forward to combining her online business with the bricks-and-mortar location. The store will continue to host motherhood classes and support groups.

In downtown Pleasanton, Dee and Rob Nitzsche have opened Your Stage Toys to complement their online business, Yourstageinc.com. The creativity-focused toy store will host birthday parties and feature live performances. Also in Pleasanton, third-generation jeweler Fotios Vassiliadis has opened Gold N Time in the Vintage Hills Shopping Center. Vassiliadis’ father, Vassilios, once made jewelry for Constantine II, the last king of Greece.

If you need flowers to go with your jewelry, check out the new Gillian Marie Flower Shop at Hartz and Prospect in downtown Danville. The French market–style shop specializes in providing a varied and eclectic selection of flora. Another Danville flower store, Twigs Studio, which moved to 398 Hartz Avenue in April, is becoming a regular on View From the Bay, demonstrating flower arranging once a month on the 3 p.m. lifestyle show on ABC-7.

West of the Caledecott, there’s been much moving and shaking. AD, a dress-focused boutique, has replaced Dish boutique on Berkeley’s College Avenue. Karen Anderson and Jenny Della Santa, owners of Dolled Up Vintage in Berkeley, have opened Mercy Vintage Now on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. Habit, a clothing shop that sells premium brands for cheap, has moved into a larger space in Emeryville’s Bay Street mall. And Berkeley-chic women’s boutique Lobelia has relocated to Shattuck Avenue and Virginia Street. Owner Maryann Luckenbill says the new shop will help customers find clothes that “work with what you’ve got, instead of pretending to be someone you’re not.”