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. Fashion ble clothing B us1iittregitt By Stewart Sutherland "We did a lot of budgeting tthr-te-ttttsetter' andgianningtoseerfistoie - First impressions can be like we wanted was feasible. deceiving. ' . We wanted to see it it would Joanne's, a women‘s fa- work and, more than that. if shion store at 1 King St., it was going to be snow North in Waterloo, has an ful. We didn't want to open exterior suited to the fa- if we felt the area didn't shioriable Yorkville district need it (the stme)."0oanne of Toronto. But that's " far said. After attending school lo. cally, Joanne travelled to Switzerland where she stu- died fashion arts for two years, he then returned to Waterloo add managed a local women‘s fashion store for two more years. "There wasn't enough scope for me so I went out go Simpsons jn Fairview Park where I managed The Room for four years," she said. Her responsirrilities there included women's coats and dresses and she became a fashion co-ordinator. She also helped set up and-run the store‘s fashion shows. Joanne said she and her co-ownezs. Bill her brother and Judy her sister, began building on her idea of open- ing her own store in January of 1979. The financial plan- ning and researching con- tinued right up until opening day last September. The Hamblins have been a part of the Twin City bu- siness scene fo decades. Joanne"s 'lJe'a't1'lr'l,'ilraa'ttl; Was instrumental in setting up Smiles and Chuckles in Kitchener and it was run by her grandfather and father before it was merged with Laura secord and moved to Toronto. , "Setting up my own store was always in the back of my mind. It's not one of those things you set up and do over night," she said. store unique in area “I think some people are intimidated by this store. rd like people to feel we are friendly and easy here," Joanne said. "A lot of pew ple' just come in to look and that's great. This store is not a boutique. I don't want it to be known as a store that's snobby because it's not." Joanne's, a women‘s la- shion store at 1 King St., North in Waterloo, has an exterior suited to the fa- shioriable Yorkville district of Toronto. But that's " far as the comparison goes. ac- cording to owner Joanne Hamblin. swtof Principles, Techniques and Reciperas taught to us in Franco And (to be sure) Lunch with Wine is Included. T CLUBS - Ask for our Nutrition Lecture and Demonstration on "Lean Cuisine" - the Low Fat, Low Choicsterol and Low Calorie way of cooking. _ _ FRENCH COOKING CLASSES mei,,'; w \M’ tiosp' 5906M Lesson , Lesson _2 Lesson 3 251 FREDERICK 811. KIYCIIEIIEII PHONE 570-0010 Tuesday to Friday 10:30.5:30 Gourmet Kitchen Boutique of New and Used Items Specializing in Copper Gourmet Cookware _ The Creative Touch D, .:at 'toet' CUISINE MINCEUR ("Loan Cuisine") " LA NOUVELLE CUISINE Level , LA GRANDE CUISINE "All the people in the Kit- chener-Waterloo area used to go to Toronto or Hamilton because there's fantastic stores there, but they don't have to now because we're here," she said. 'Ht was our intention to give the old building a face- lift. The building has a lot of character and I think we left a lot of that character in the store as well." she said. "it's sort of soft. A classy looking store but homey." “I get a lot of out of town customers, too. Some pee ple have come from as far as Hamilton and the Nia- gara area/' she said. "Over Christmas there were a lot of people from Palmerston, Owen Sound and even Bar- rie. There was agreat in- flux." Joanne points to her staff as being responsible for her store having a reputation for friendly and relaxed shop- ping. "In fact, we had a lady in here buying some clothes and in the midst of it all. my brother walked in. He had just taken his wife to the ho. spital to have a baby and everyone here was in a kind of a tizzy," she said. "This The fitting rooms were purposely designed- on a rather large scale to enable customers to relax and enjoy themselves while shopping. according to Joan- ne. She says it gives women a chance to think about what they want and still give them room to move instead of being crammed into a small cubicle. Joanne says many of her customers have told her that Waterloo needed a store like hers. “I've got fantastic' sales people. They‘re more like friends and partners." she said. and by lady said it was a fun place to shop and she was having a- ball. Everyone was winning around while she was relax- ing with a cup of coffeeand enjoying herself." ‘When men are stymied about what to buy their wives or girl friends. the staff at Joanne‘s will go out of their way to make them feel comfortable and help them make up their minds. according to Joanne. "It seems that men feel uncomfortable in a woman's shopping world," the said. "We bring them in. sit them down and try to help them. because they don't always know what they're looking for. Sometimes they don't even know their wife's size"." "What I like about this bu- siness is the selling aspect. I have to be down on that floor selling clothes I don't like sitting behind a desk. I have to be on the floor every minute because I have to know what's going on. I Just love it," Joanne said. You won't find Joanne hid- ing behind her desk in the upstairs office like some store owners. She saysrshe likes people and selling too much for that. "I'm hoping that Ican fill a need that perhaps was not served before," she added. SUPERIOR l MEMORIALS SHOULD YOU PURCHASE YOUR CEMETERY MEMORIAL AHEAD OF TIME? DISCUSS TIE ADVANTAG. an “curb St. N., ”when" (Belle We“. Inhaled ”la-Olluter In." 573-1!“ lmwm Ars. u "er Joanne Hamblin. owner of Joanna's fashion store in Waterloo. has managed to retain the exterior character of her old building even though the interior has undergone a major renovation. She says her store meets a need that her cust- omers say was sadly lacking for years. _ ttlbtyrtptApioetir% “madam Mera so, 1930 ,-P!211