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Eye Candy owner Nadine Ball’s style has been described as hip, striking and innovative. (Photo: Kimberly McKinzie)
New clothing retailer dresses up East Avenue
By MARY STONE
When contract work dried up this year, graphic designer Nadine Ball decided to take the plunge and open her own boutique.
Parlaying her eye for design into a clothing business, Ball chose the name Eye Candy, developed a logo and some four months later opened a store on East Avenue, next to her new landlord, Veneto Gourmet Pizza and Pasta Inc.
Eye Candy, with a growing collection of men and women’s apparel, has been open informally to customers since mid-September. Its official opening is set for mid-November.
Construction on the space, which had been broken up into small offices, started in mid-July. Ball hired Donovan Matthews Co. LLC to build out the shop, which she designed around the color scheme of her logo.
Ball said she has wanted for years to open her own store. The Fairport native said the paucity of downtown fashion boutiques gave her the idea to open her own.
“I’ve always had an interest in aesthetics, unique combinations of clothes and accessories. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed,” she said.
But what gave her the push to open the shop was a comment made by a friend in April on a trip she took with her son to Miami.
“On the plane, my girlfriend said to me, ‘You know, I really admire people who carry out their dreams.’ That’s when I thought, ‘I’ve been thinking about this for a few years now. What’s stopping me? I should execute it.’
“When I got home I started scoping out a few places, and I found this one on East Avenue, with the hope of being centrally located and the ability to reach a younger crowd.”
Ball drew insight from fellow designers such as James Nunes, senior art director at Partners + Napier Inc., where she frequently freelances.
Nunes described Ball’s style as hip, striking and innovative. The apparel lines she has chosen reflect her own sense of fashion, he said. She likes to look polished.
“I would love to see people in Rochester get dressed up a little more,” Ball said.
To that end, her lines are funky and sophisticated, she said, and range from $30 for a T-shirt to $400 for a jacket. A wide range in style and price, she said, was a big priority.
Nunes said, “I think she’s got a great shot at this, given her own personal sense of style. She does it old-school. If you’re traveling, you get dressed up. You don’t get on a plane in shorts and T-shirt.”
Nunes, who has helped critique her marketing materials and decorate the store, calls the ambiance there funky, eclectic and comfortable. Opening the store in advance of the grand opening has been a good idea to help spread the word about the shop, he said.
“I bought a pair of pants and a shirt and wore them out over the weekend. People noticed what I was wearing and asked where I got them,” he said.
Originally, Ball’s idea was to open a men’s-only apparel store. It was the advice of friends that pushed her toward a wider potential clientele.
“There’s stuff for the preppy guy, for the rocker guy, for the very conservative and the contemporary guy,” she said.
Except for getting casual advice from friends and colleagues, Ball has done all of the research, planning and execution. A trip to Atlanta this summer for a one-day, 10-hour seminar in retail business helped a lot to understand what she was getting into, she said.
“I was doing research on the Internet. I didn’t even know where to get a Visa machine,” she said. “I decided to take a seminar, and it was invaluable.”
She found out that locating suppliers was better to do in person than online. Ball set about traveling to trade shows to seek out fashions.
“When you’re at the show, you can feel the fabrics, and from a business sense it’s important to meet contacts in person. Daily, I’m finding new suppliers,” she said.
One in particular is in Istanbul, she said, and offers detail-oriented apparel with elaborate beading. Shipments of that line are expected next month, and by that point Ball hopes to have added men’s and women’s accessories to the store.
Ball continues to do graphic design work for clients on the side. It was important not to quit her day job, she said. Financing for the store came from personal savings and a line of credit.
Having two jobs means 12-hour work days. In her free time, she is designing her own line of graphic T-shirts, along with leggings and other basic apparel to augment the store’s offerings with items at a lower price point.
“If this doesn’t work out for me, at least I tried,” she said. “I still will have my health, my family and my friends, and I will have everything that really matters. My plan, though, is to make this a success, and I’m going to work as hard as I can to make it happen.”
10/16/09 © Rochester Business Journal
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