11/24-11/25/12
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THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
Bonnie Arkin, the former owner of Hearts Desire, takes a break from teaching a mosaic class at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe
photography by j.geil
Bouncing back When favorite stores close, North Shore owners find success elsewhere ■ by
joanna brown
The downtown districts that dot the North Shore give character to the communities. They’re filled with boutiques and services that reflect local values and interests – and business owners who pour their hearts into providing just exactly what their customers crave. And it seems that even when a local favorite closes up, the entrepreneur behind stays in town and continues to work with the customers who’ve long supported them. “Trust me, there is life after retail,” said Bonnie Arkin. Arkin was only 24 when she and her mother, Barbara Levin, opened the Highland Park gift shop Hearts Desire in 1980. But she came from a family of collectors, and knew her mom’s personal collection of antiques would easily sell alongside the jewelry she created. “My first love and my passion is making jewelry,” Arkin said. But after 16 years she moved on to the next phase in her life. “Like all great love affairs, my heart fell out of it and it was time to close,” said Arkin, now a Buffalo Grove resident. She tried a variety of jobs, but eventually fell back on the entrepreneurial spirit and desire to create beautiful things that built the store. Mrs. Levin died earlier this year. These days, she divides her time between her own creations and helping others to tap their creative spirit. But she’s always working with old junk, like buttons, broken dishes and mahjong tiles she collects at antique fairs. “I was green before green was cool,” said Arkin. “In my classes we make rejuvenated jewelry, taking old and forgotten things and giving them new life.” The broken dishes are also used in her piqueassiette mosaics. Her creations are available at venues across the country, including Lake Bluff’s Peg Ann Kompany, Wilmette’s Raven and Dove, and several Holocaust museum gift shops. And her classes are scheduled at the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Chicago Jewelry School in Wheeling. Her advice to local entrepreneurs is to stretch their
minds and the way they think about business. “Creative people are always around.” Former Wilmette business owner Laurie Carver knows that Arkin’s advice rings true. Once the creative director at a Chicago ad agency she owned with her now ex-husband, Carver spent more than two years conceptualizing her first retail endeavor. “My tag line was ‘treasures and gifts to delight every sense,’ and as you walked through the store you walked through the senses. It was experiential retail,” she said of the shop Senses she owned at the intersection of Wilmette and Central avenues from 1996-2005. “I always loved creating and had spent all my years in advertising creating in two dimensions,” said Carver, who recently moved to Glenview. “The store was three dimensions, and it was filled with the things I loved. It was a healing place and it attracted neat people.” When the faltering economy forced Carver to close the store, she acted quickly to apply her professional experience and creative instincts in different business settings. Through Carver Creative, she works with small businesses to develop launch strategies, marketing plans and brand identity. “The work I’m doing is gratifying because I love entrepreneurs. I understand them, and I’ve been one, and I’m still immersed in the local community, which I love.” Her advice too small business owners is simple: appreciate what you’ve accomplished. “Continue to do all you can to give the best service you can, and do what you can to use your current clients to help you: encourage them to spread the word about you. Find clever ways to make sure people know you’re here.” In Lake Forest, where Pony and Gridley Swanton were the third and final owners of Robertson’s Men’s Store, the secret to success was as old as the Deerpath address: the customer is always right. Pony Swanton started working in Robertson’s while still a local high school student, and his wife ARKIN >> PAGE 12
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