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Lawrence Business
Local graduate markets furniture
Larry Northrop, Lawrence graduate student and owner of HomeStyle, 844 Massachusetts St., sits in the store's front window, which he calls his office, and watches pedestrians. Northrop drew on his experiences as a college student in starting the business, which opened on July 4. HomeStyle is stocked with furniture recycled from hotels, such as couches, chairs and mattresses. Photo by Joseph Griffin/KANSAN.
By Michael Martin Kansan staff writer
Larry Northrop, Lawrence graduate student and local furniture entrepreneur, is well-traveled. So is his product.
Northeast's company, HomeStyle, 844 Massachusetts St. sells furniture recycled from upscale hotels, such as couches, chairs, mattresses and artwork.
Northrop, owner of the two-level, 8,000-square-foot store which opened on July 4, attended the University as an undergraduate and is enrolled in the M.B.A. program.
As a student, Northrop and his brother did maintenance work in local rental properties his father owned. They noticed the student lifestyle could take a heavy toll on furniture.
From that observation, HomeStyle was born. It was his brother's brainstorm. Northrop said.
"What students need is cheap furniture,' he said, and I agreed," Northrop said.
After Northrop returned to Lawrence after a one-year, 132-city world tour in 1996. HomeStyle began to take shape.
Connections that Northrop cultivated from his years as an account manager with Sprint paid off in starting the business. he said.
Northrop purchases furniture from an independent contracting firm that travels around the country remodeling hotels, he said. Most of HomeStyle's current stock once furnished a Marriott Courtyard hotel in Maryland. Acquiring furniture from a Ritz-Carlton and two Holiday Inn hotels is a possibility, Northrop said.
The furniture comes to him in good condition and does not need refurbishing,he said.
HomeStyle is stocked with sofa beds, lamps, chairs, artwork, mirrors, refrigerators, mattress sets and televisions. Sofa beds range from $110 to $155, regular sofas are $95, mattress sets start at $60, chairs are $20 and artwork ranges from $15 to $40.
The store delivers to Lawrence locations for $10. Delivery to other areas is negotiable.
Aaron Kabler, Lawrence senior, was HomeStyle's only employee until last week. He made deliveries and ran the store when Northrup was out.
"It was tiring,"Kabler said."Business has been pretty good even though we haven't done any advertising yet."
Northrup sells to businesses and nonprofit organizations as well as students. He expects business to increase when University students move back to Lawrence for the fall semester.
Sumy Lan, Lawrence resident, browsed through HomeStyle on a recent afternoon.
"It's pretty interesting," she said. Especially since it's a college-student town."
Northrop said that he considered launching his business in a much larger space in Kansas City, Mo., but that the prospect of a student audience was appealing.
"Lawrence isn't as big as Kansas City, but there's just as much market," he said.
Massachusetts Street's character also lured him back to his hometown, he said.
"I'm kind of at the corner of the world right here," he said, sitting at a table in the store's front window. "I like sitting in my office here and watching the world go by."
Home-decor boutique opens downtown
By Michael Martin
Kansan staff writer
Peggy Wright wants you to push the envelope of home decor.
If you would like,you can use one of her letter openers.
Wright, owner of Borderline, 820 Massachusetts St., recently opened the boutique that carries a wide variety of gift items and home accents, much of which are hand-crafted.
Functional art, she calls it.
"It's perfect for students graduating or setting up their first apartment," she said.
Borderline also stocks high-end pieces such as an African ebony-wood bowl and a wave-shaped glass bowl with a rock base from the Pacific Northwest, Wright said.
several gift ideas within a student's price range, she said. Many items are less than $10, such as letter openers and hand-turned wood pots.
The store has rattan armoires stocked with suede pillows and candles. Darkwood tables display silver jewelry, ebony stem glassware, silver bowls and decorative plates and lamps. Iron wall decorations and fabrics in exotic patterns line the
Peggy Wright
"I wanted to be in an urban, pedestrian environment. It was more suited to what I'm trying to do"
Several items for sale are on display at Borderline. According to the owner Peggy Wright, the store was 20 years in the making. Photo by Joseph Griffin/KANSAN.
Owner of Borderline
walls. A garden scene occupies a back corner.
"It's eclectic," Wright said. "There's maybe some ethnic and Oriental influence, but mostly it's a mixture of old with new."
Almost half of Borderline's merchandise is hand-crafted by artisans from regions such as Santa Fe, N.M., and the East Coast. Wright said.
Her goal is to supply homeowners and students with gifts for graduations, weddings and special events. The store offers
She discovered both items at an accessories show. Wright said she regularly canvasses the country in search of merchandise, visiting craft shows and art festivals in cities such as Atlanta and New York City.
Shirley Crooks, Kansas City, Mo., resident and Wright's sister, helped with the
"I thought it had a real artist's quality, like a gallery," she said. "I think we need more of that."
store's grand opening last Friday. She said that business had been strong.
Tobey Martin, St. Louis senior, visited Borderline shortly after its opening and said that the store complemented Lawrence well.
"We've had a really good response. I'm amazed at the amount of foot traffic. We don't have that in Kansas City." Crooks said.
Wright said that Borderline had been in
the making for a while.
"I've been in retail all my life," she said. "I always wanted to open my own business."
For more than two decades, Wright worked at upscale department stores, such as Halls and the now-defunct Woolf Brothers and Harzfeld's, on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo.
Wright still lives in the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City, but said she had fallen in love with Lawrence.
"I think it's a bit more artsy, has more an eclectic mix of people," she said. "I wanted to be in an urban, pedestrian environment. It was more suited to what I'm trying to do."
Sidewalk sale to offer big bargains tomorrow
By Michael Martin Kansan staff writer
Bargain shoppers take note: hunting season begins at sun-up tomorrow.
The 27th Annual Downtown Lawrence Sidewalk Sale will bring thousands of shoppers and scores of local merchants to the sidewalks of Massachusetts Street.
"It's a huge day," McFarlane said. "We rank it right up there with holiday shopping."
More than 100 merchants, including all the stores in downtown Lawrence, will be open from 7 a.m. until sundown. The vendors will offer seasonal clearance merchandise discounted 50 to 70 percent, said Marcia McFarlane, administrator for Downtown Lawrence Inc.
A variety of nonprofit organizations will offer beverages from fund-raising booths, KLWN-FM will broadcast live and food, including Indian tacos and sausage, will be available to satisfy shoppers' non-material appetites.
The Lawrence Farmers' Market, 10th and Ver m o n t streets, also will be open from 4 to 6 p.m.
The sale is sponsored by Downtown Lawrence Inc., a nonprofit coalition of
downtown merchants and has been held on the third Thursday in July since 1971. The event traditionally draws thousands, including many from out of town and from neighboring states, said Joe Flannery, president of Weavers Department Store Inc., 901 Massachusetts.
Weavers has participated in the sale for more than 30 years, before the event was official.
"We put out tables after tables on the sidewalk," Flannery said. "It's probably the most fun event of the year, because you're doing business outside, and you're doing business inside."
Flannery said the sale were not limited to Massachusetts Street, but spanned the city, including merchants from outlying areas such as 23rd Street.
"Almost everyone participates," he said. "It's a community-wide event."
For Sugartown, a recycled-clothing store at 918 Massachusetts, this year's sidewalk sale will be its first. Tamyra Heim, co-owner, said that the new business would offer the traditional discounts but would put its own spin on the event, for practicality's sake.
"Our sidewalk sale will be inside where it's cool." she said
Free parking will be available in parking lots along New Hampshire and Vermont streets. Parking also will be available in the city parking garage at the Lawrence Riverfront Plaza.
Natural remedies require caution
Bv Leslie Potter
Kansan staff writer
Varro E. Tyler, an herbal-medicine specialist, said that the most popular and effective natural medicines were echinacea, a treatment for the common cold; garlic, a high-cholesterol treatment; ginger biloba, an aid to memory and concentration; ginseng, an energy booster. St. John's wort, a treatment for mild to moderate depression; and kava, an anxiety-reduction aid.
Although they have been used since ancient times, herbal medicines have gained renewed interest in the United States. The trend comes from patients demanding herbal alternatives to synthetic drugs.
"Some herbal medicines such as ginseng and gingko seem very valid and are helpful for people," she said. "But you need to be careful."
However, natural remedies are not necessarily safe, said Myra L. Strother, a senior student health physician at Watkins Memorial Health Center.
the Food and Drug Administration, so you don't know what additives or other ingredients companies may put in them, and people don't usually know the right dosage to take." Strother said.
Linda L. Keeler, a senior student health physician at Counseling and Psychological Services, said that students should not take St. John's wort for depression without receiving therapy.
Strother said that herbal medicines could cause side effects or interact negatively with other medications.
Keeler said that few studies had been conducted on herbal medicines and their potential for side effects, which posed a problem because herbal medicines were sold over the counter.
"Herbal medicines are not regulated by
"Depression is complex," Keedor said.
"You need to be monitored by a physician. Depression just cannot be treated by medicine alone."
"There are studies under way to better understand how these medicines can help people," Keeler said. "But you should get an accurate diagnosis from a physician before starting any medication."
Project teaches computers, culture
By Beth Janes
Teams from 19 U.S. schools supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are in Lawrence for the 4 Directions Summer Institute at Haskell Indian Nations University.
Kansan staff writer
The institute's goal is for K-12 students to learn about their heritage while developing computer skills. It begins today and lasts for one and a half weeks.
Students use computers to collect, analyze and report on their local cultures, said Brian Newberry, 4 Directions coordinator. Participants will attend training sessions on Power Point, Web page development and the Internet.
Newberry said that the projects would help bring schools that were thousands of miles apart closer through shared information and common experiences.
"Although the cultures at the schools are each different, they experience similar problems, like a lack of money," he said. "This project has broadened horizons and is breaking down that isolation. It is individuals rather than schools making a personal connection during the institute. This is important because the project really is a collaborative effort."
The University of Kansas' main role in the 4 Directions project is to assist with the computer training. The Haskell faculty helps with curriculum development.
"The project isn't just teaching about technology," Newberry said. "It's about changing the structure of teaching and learning. We are bringing together a collaborative community of teachers to share ideas and support each other. We hope at the end, our efforts will go on through a virtual community of teachers."
The 4 Directions project began after President Clinton and the United States Department of Education issued a challenge grant to educators and businesses to create programs for using the information superhighway in education and everyday life. More than 500 groups responded with proposals. The 4 Directions project was one of 19 chosen and the only one involving Native Americans.
"There are many non-native teachers in
"Although the cultures at the schools are each different, they experience similar problems like a lack of money."
Brian Newberry 4 Directions Coordinator
Native American classrooms, and they often rely on community members to help develop the curriculum," Newberry said. "We collaborate and teach what the schools need to accomplish their project and reform curriculum."
Sherri Foreman teaches computer technology at the Muckleshoot Tribal School in Auburn, Wash. She said she liked the institute because there were fewer distractions when she was away from home.
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"It gives us a chance to gather together and get the opportunity to learn skills and training," she said. "Once I get there, I can free up my mind and concentrate more on the project and the training."