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Some retail happenings in our south Charlotte suburbs:
Charlotte Outdoor Creations, 3645 Pleasant Plains Road in Stallings, continues its grand opening weekend today with barbecue samplings and displays. The design center and retail showroom (20,000 square feet) features outdoor living products, from grills and accessories to furniture, pool chemicals, dinnerware, pavers and stones. The center is located in space formerly occupied by Matthews Pottery.
After working the construction side of providing outdoor entertainment areas, owners Ron and Carole Sackowitz wanted to be a part of the retail side. “We felt the need to expand and show the product side of our work,” Carole Sackowitz said. The husband-and-wife team also can provide pool installation.
Staff members include designers and store manager Mary Gills, who spent 10 years as store manager of Barbecue Galore in the Arboretum before it closed last year.
Store hours for Charlotte Outdoor Creations are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. For information: 704-821-1001; charlotteout doorcreations.com.
Also celebrating a grand opening today: Karen's Beautiful Things, which moved a week ago to the Arboretum shopping center from its nine-year location at the Park 51 Center on Park Road.
The change gives the business more space and more visibility, owner Karen Holder said. Karen's Beautiful Things is at 8042 Providence Road, Suite 900, in the space formerly occupied by The Lamp Gallery. Today's grand opening is 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and includes drawings and a recyclable shopping bag giveaway.
Karen's Beautiful Things features a new boutique inside the store, A Step Back in Time, with customer Victoria Ross as manager. As Ross and Holder tell it, Ross – a breast-cancer survivor – came in one day wearing a beautiful vintage hat and jewelry. Holder complimented Ross's good taste; Ross responded that she collected enough antique hats and vintage items after chemotherapy that “I have enough to open a boutique.” Holder took her at her word.
In addition to hats and purses, Ross sells vintage dresses, skirts, blouses and nightgowns. The clothes were crafted in an era when “clothes were thoughtfully designed to flatter a woman's body,” Ross said in a news release.
“By ‘recycling' these clothes,” Ross said in her statement, “I feel as if I'm keeping alive the beauty, tastes and personalities of women of past generations.” Info: www .karensbeautifulthings.com
National retailer Shoe Carnival, with a location at Windsor Square Shopping Center in Matthews, announces a special promotion running Wednesday through Saturday. Customers buying a pair of shoes then can get a second pair of equal or lesser value for half off through Jan. 19.
