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THE OAKVILLE BEAVERWednesday, March 31, 1999 C 3 Antique lace collector to modem entrepreneur By Carol Baldw in ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR M arcia Sm all's collection of antique lace has evolved. What began as a collection grew into a thriving wholesale business in which the Oakville entrepreneur designed her own home decor and lingerie prod­ ucts, did all the purchasing, supervised the pro­ duction, maintained a 2,000-square-foot ware­ house, and participated in 15 trade shows a year. Needless to say, such a hectic lifestyle began wearing her down, so Small downsized herself. Now she says she will take large orders for her private label on occasion but has given up mass wholesaling. "The big jobs are fun, even though they can be repetitious. But it's still creative and I still enjoy doing them," she says. However, a lot o f Small's creative energy is devoted to Victoria's Linen and Lace, her shop at 179 Lakeshore Rd. E. where she sells her own line of lingerie, christening outfits and home decor items -• bedding, pillows and sachets - as well as a variety of other gift ideas from small novelty toys for kids to large water fountains. Small still collects antique lace. In fact, she says her collection is big enough for a exhibition. And although she originally trimmed her night­ gowns with pieces from her collection, she soon stopped that. "They saw that is wasn't perfect and would say, 'Can you make me another one.' So I use all new lace on my products now, for consistency," she says, adding, "I have some beautiful pieces of antique lace. And it's all hand­ made, which is rare." Small says her nightgowns, made from a cot­ ton sateen that she imports from Japan, are popu­ lar items. "I have tried many different fabrics. But my customers prefer this. It's beautiful fabric; it's non-see-through; and it wears," she says, adding that many who buy her nightgowns get hooked and keep coming back for more, or their husbands drop in for gifts. "I have a lot of very loyal people that I have had for a long, long time." Now the woman who launched her career on Victorian lace is branching out into Asian designs for her pillows, which stems back to a job she had as a kid helping a Chinese family at trade shows. "I was making more money as a sales rep than any kid my age. I have a huge regard for Asian people and their ways. There's been an ele­ ment of that in any store I've ever had," she says, adding that today's customers are slowly begin­ ning to accept the Asian look. "It took me a few years to get people out of the Victorian mode, to get out o f that stuck place." Small has been taking fengshui training and will soon be a fengshui consultant. As a consul­ tant, she will show people how to harmonize their homes by adding or subtracting certain items. "Sometimes it is subtle things that make the difference," she explains. "For example, a water element in the entrance of the home means prosperity.. .And wind chimes are energy." Small will have a variety of her home decor items - Asian and Victorian - at the One-of-a- Kind show as well as her lingerie items. Prices for her designs range from $5 for sachets fdled with a custom blended pot-pourri to $120 for a duvet. Photo by Peter C. McCusker Marcia Small, owner of Victoria's Linen and Lace, is surrounded by the home decor items she creates. Her cotton sateen nightgowns are so popular that women get hooked on them and keep coming back for more. 4 m W m m Clay sculptures for your wall By Carol Baldwin He says he used to create custom made designs on ARTS f t E N T E R T A IN M E N T E D IT O R request to match customers' homes, but he stopped doing that because it just took too long, and it wasn't Brian Illingworth sculpts miniature three- dimensional houses, Egyptian scenes, fruit designs and nautical items. But he wasn't always a sculptor. At one time he owned a display business in which he used miniature houses from Britain in his display. Then one day, he explains, "I said, 'I think I can do that '" And he did. "Then I said, 'Why not try wall plaques for the house?" ' And he did that, too. In fact, the plaques became so popular that he has since developed a variety of prod­ uct lines and taken on his son, Mark, and later his son, Stephen, to join him in his thriving business. "Mark was a cook and he decided he wanted to do this. And he started the fruit (plaque) line," says Brian. "And my other son was working for Shell and Shell closed down. So, he started with us." Brian sculpts the original houses, cafes, boats, fruit designs, Egyptian scenes, and so on in clay. Then he makes a rubber mould from the originals. "It takes seven or eight hours to do one (plaque)," he estimates. "We have close to 200 (designs)." Photo by Barrie Erskine Mark Illingworth, left, paints the miniature houses, cafes, boats, fruit designs and Egyptian scenes that his father, Brian, creates. Brian sculpted the designs in clay then made rubber moulds for the 200 designs the pair sells. cost efficient. The designs he continues to do are painted by Mark even though Mark was the one who developed and originally sculpted the fruit designs. "We were in the doll house business for a while, and would make about 100 doll houses," says Brian. "We got into the One-of-a-Kind show with the doll houses. Then we asked if we could put some of these (wall sculptures) in with the doll houses." Over time the doll houses became history, and the wall sculptures continue to sell like hot cakes. Size and price may have been the deciding factor, since the doll houses were larger and more expensive and needed to be delivered, while the wall sculptures are less expen­ sive and move much quicker. "We make between 10,000 and 12,000 a year," says Brian, noting that the $20 to $45 price range may be instrumental in their popularity. "At Christmas time some people have a $20 limit on gifts, so they will buy 10 or 12 at a time." "We've thought o f raising our prices," adds Mark. "But we wouldn't sell as many." As it is, the Illingworths say they take thousands of dollars worth of sculptures to the One-of-a-Kind show each day. And the last time the spring show was held on Easter weekend, Good Friday was a record sales day. "It was one of the biggest days we've ever had," Brian recalls. For those who can't make it to the One-of-a-Kind show, the Illingworth wall sculptures are available at the General Store in Burlington's Mapleview Mall, or by calling Studio 86 at 849-8223. neighbour an d support your local Retailer... (9a/iUf//e The Oakville Beaver N ews • Sports • Entertainment CCAC H A L T O b Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) of Halton Applications are invited from residents of Halton to fill vacan­ cies on the Board of Directors. The CCAC provides access to a range of long-term care ser­ vices including nursing, homemaking, and long-term care facilities. It also provides information about other related community services. It is dedicated to providing ease of access to high quality consumer focused community, personal support and health care services. The Board is responsible for the overall management of a budget in excess of $25 mil­ lion. Appointments to the Board are made for a term of three years. Board members are expected to volunteer about 10 hours per month. It is a Board of governance, not of manage­ ment. The CEO is responsible for implementation within Board prescribed limitations. Applications are invited from persons who are, or have been, users of the service, family caregivers or those with an inter­ est in ensuring further development of health and social ser­ vices. Board members should be comfortable with and have empathy for dealing with individuals and community groups. To avoid conflict of interest, people directly associated with agencies or organizations that have or hope to have service or supply contracts with the CCAC, and people who operate long-term care facilities, are not eligible to be board mem­ bers of the CCAC. D ie deadline for applications is April 30,1999. Letters of application, including a resume and a statement of why you are interested in becoming a Board Member should be sent to: Mr. Terry Ruf Chair, Nominations Committee Community Care Access Centre of Halton 440 Elizabeth S I, 4th Floor Burlington, Ontario L7R 2M1 HPis WM Looking fo r a recipe fo r a Memorable Easter? Take your fam ily to Brunch at the Ramada this Easter, featuring: Salads: French Salad, Pasta Salad Caesar Salad Waldorf Salad and more. Breakfast Item: Danish, Muffins, Bacon, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, plus a made to order Omelette and Waffle Station Cold Items Prosciuto and Smoked Chicken and Salmon Platter. Hot Items Chicken in a Mushroom Sauce, Fresh Vegetables, Potatoes, and Carved Stuffed leg o f Lamb, and Top Sirloin RAMADA INN & C O N V E N T I O N C E N T R E 360 Oakville Place Drive 905 845-7561 for reservations * You didn't think we would forget our fabulous Dessert Sta­ tions- did you? Pastries, Cakes, and flans to name a few ! Adults $895 Children 6 -12 Children 5 and under FREE