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JANUARY 2014 — BALTIMORE BEACON
Careers Volunteers &
Does your organization use senior volunteers or do you employ a number of seniors? If you do and you’d like to be considered for a story in our Volunteers & Careers section, please send an email to info@thebeaconnewspapers.com.
For business owners, it’s all in the family By Carol Sorgen At 60, Pamela Berwager has no intention of retiring anytime soon, if ever. So when her longtime interior design career was no longer as enjoyable as it had once been, the native Baltimorean started casting about for her next adventure. The idea of opening an elegant boutique where she could use her eye for design was appealing, but having no retail experience, she wasn’t convinced that made much sense. Then one day, her daughter, Gabrielle
Paredes, called to say that a storefront in a small enclave of upscale shops in Stevenson Village had become available. “I dropped what I was doing and ran over there,” said Berwager. Within two weeks she was negotiating a lease, and in September 2012, Berwager “took the leap” into her new career as a boutique owner. She called her shop Sprezzatura. It’s an archaic Italian word meaning studied nonchalance, or the perfect conduct or performance of something (such as an artistic endeavor) without apparent effort.
BEACON BITS
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FREE HELP AT SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER
The Small Business Resource Center offers assistance to entrepreneurs with everything from preparing business plans to finding insurance for their employees. The center is free to the public and has a PC-based business library with literature and videos. Visit at 1101 E. 33rd St., Suite C307, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (443) 451-7160 or visit www.sbrcbaltimore.com.
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WALKING FOR WELLNESS
Woodlawn Senior Center members walk for fitness every Wednesday at 10 a.m. The center is located at 20 Gwynn Oak Ave. in Gwynn Oak. For more information, call (410) 887-6887.
APARTMENT HOMES FOR ACTIVE ADULTS 62 OR BETTER Regency Crest is an extraordinarily carefree community because of the convenient lifestyle enjoyed by those who live here. We go the extra mile to provide our residents with distinctive amenities and service that cannot be found in ordinary active adult communities.
COMMUNITY AMENITIES • Beautiful club room with theatre • Indoor saltwater pool • Yoga studio & classes • Movie theatre & Billiards room 3305 Oak West Drive • Business center – 24 hours Ellicott City, MD 21043 • Incredible courtyard and meditation garden with koi pond and gazebo 855.446.1131 www.RegencySeniorApartments.com • Guest suites • Bingo, and many more planned activities
“It’s a fun word,” said Berwager, explaining the choice for the shop’s name, and it’s the ambience she wants to convey. “Of course, there were a lot of people who thought it was going to be a spaghetti house,” she said, laughing. Berwager admits that with no experience herself as a shop owner, there have been challenges along the way. “It’s been daunting, and we’ve made mistakes — like knowing how much inventory to carry — and we probably still are. But we’re growing in the right direction,” she said. It probably helps that Paredes, 38, who is now a partner in her mother’s store, has worked for the venerable Saks Fifth Avenue.
Poised for expansion The business has been growing, and will soon add a second location nearby that will specialize in items for corporate events and weddings. Berwager credits the shop’s increasing success not only to her own belief that if you want something strongly enough, you can make it happen, but also to her daughter’s effervescent personality, sense of style, energy and computer skills. She also credits the fact that, as of a few months ago, her husband Brent, “who’s great at everything,” joined the business as well. A professional fundraiser, Brent, who is See ALL IN THE FAMILY, page 19
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DYSLEXIA TUTORING PROGRAM NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
Make a difference by giving someone the joy of reading. The Dyslexia Tutoring Program’s mission is to teach reading to low-income children and adults with dyslexia or a language-based learning difference. Clients are assessed and then tutored weekly by volunteers who have been trained in the Orton-Gillingham method of reading, writing and spelling. Check the website at www.dyslexiatutoringprogram.org or call (410) 889-5487.