On the far east side of Phinney Ridge, just a block up from Aurora, the corner of 73rd and Linden has seen a succession of businesses come and go. But three new businesses – a salon, home furnishings shop, and T-shirt and gift boutique – are trying to breathe new life into the area.
Sugarcomb, a full-service hair salon at 780 N. 73rd St., opened on Feb. 23 after several months of remodeling. It takes the place of a series of coffeeshops. Stylists Patience McGhan and Sean Bates live in Phinney with their 3-year-old daughter and were looking around for a space they could call their own. “We were actually on the way home from The Little Gym and I just stopped and peered in the window and had a really great feeling,” Bates says.
He says 80 percent of his downtown salon clients followed him to Sugarcomb, and that the salon gets a lot of neighborhood walk-by traffic, especially on weekends. They plan to landscape their sidewalk strip into a little seating area, so people can pop into the salon and grab a cup of coffee and sit outside on a nice day while waiting to get their hair cut.
The salon uses Kevin.Murphy products from Australia. They plan to eventually offer skin care as well. Sugarcomb is currently open Tues. 10-8, Wed.-Fri. 10-6, Sat. 9:30-6 and Sun. 11-6.
Right next door to Sugarcomb is a tiny storefront called Flock, which opened Dec. 18. Owned by Jody Dyer, the store at 7305 Linden Ave. N. offers her own line of hand-screened T-shirts, Blackbird Tees, plus crafts from a number of local artists.
Dyer lives in Greenwood and also has a Blackbird Tees space at the Fremont Farmer’s Market. With a master’s in film studies and screen writing, some of her pop-culture shirts feature images of classic screen sirens such as Brigitte Bardot and Louise Brooks. “They’re cheeky little flirtatious shirts, mostly,” she says with a smile.
She made a name for herself last year with her line of Resume tees – custom designed shirts with the wearer’s resume on the back and a pithy saying on the front. She says that exposure led a number of small businesses to offer her business advice as she prepared to open Flock. “I’m finally getting an opportunity with the shop to support other artists, so everything I carry is by local artists.”
That includes soaps and lip balms by My Birch, bobby pin sets by Sophie Marie, and leather wallets and business card holders by Crafty Devils. She also carries crocheted baby booties, and unique jewelry that uses guitar picks and shrinky dinks.
Dyer hopes that Flock and the other new stores on the corner will offer something the neighborhood has been missing. “Collectively we all are trying to offer reasonable prices for our respective clientele. Nothing in my shop is over 40 bucks.”
Flock is open Wed.-Sat. 12-6 p.m.
Kitty corner from Flock and Sugarcomb is Furnishments, at 7216 Linden Ave. N. Furnishments offers a variety of antique and modern furniture, consignment, and staging and decorative services.
Owner Katrina Puetz has filled her store with inventory from her home staging business, as well as consignments. You can buy an antique couch, china, silverware, vases, candles, new chairs from Pottery Barn, quilts and sheets, plus pillows in a myriad of fabrics. And, if you’re really a collector, for just $1,499.99 you can take home one of the original 1924 Hotpoint electric stoves discovered behind a wall when the Camlin Hotel was remodeled in 2003 (it’s in the far background of the photo above).
“There is something in here for almost every person,” says employee Michaela. “You could probably find something to fit your style.”
Furnishments is open Wed.-Mon. 12-5 p.m. or by appointment.