A new cosmetics studio joins the downtown business mix
By Don Callahan
At 44 Elm St. ... Between Joey's on the corner and Café Rouge on Elm Street, Kathryn Byington has opened a Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio. "Beauty at Every Age" is the byword; cleanse, tone, moisturize and treat is the regimen. Byington had been in the education field, working with special needs children before opening this studio.
"Accordingly," she said, "having used the products for a long time and looking for a career change, I decided this would be a fun way to spend my time. I called the company and they sent someone to our town to see if the market is strong enough." It was, so she went to Los Angeles for an extensive training program and now has the shop open and ready for business. Although Byington did not go to Los Gatos High School, her mother, Eva Teese, did and graduated in 1956.
A side note ... Café Rouge, that coffeehouse mentioned above, houses poetry reading on the third Wednesday of each month. The evening agenda is a feature reader followed by an open microphone. Farhad and Belgi pour a variety of coffees and serve a number of pastries.
Palm Partner ... "HealtheTech Inc. is the worldwide market leader in personal health monitoring, and develops, manufactures and markets proprietary health solutions designed to give consumers simple, informative ways to improve and maintain health and wellness," according to Noel Johnson, president/COO. He says that the DietLog software for the Palm Pilot is a "clinically proven, complete weight management and nutrition software application that allows users to set personal nutrition and weight-loss goals, track food consumption and monitor progress." And it is extremely portable. HealtheTech moved into the facility recently vacated by Coldwell Banker at 325 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road in July and performs the company's product development engineering and partnering program.
Bones ... Bringing 15 years of experience with him, Luis Matos recently bought Bones Dog Wash at 15525-B Los Gatos Blvd., next to the Stuffed Pizza Parlor and a few doors away from Kinko's. Matos started out boarding dogs in the Santa Cruz area, then moved to Sacramento where he went into the grooming side of the business. According to Matos, "The ambience of our dog wash shop is what sets us apart from others. We have seven Terra Cotta and Del Rio tile, easily accessible large, raised tubs and one lower tub for the disabled and those monstrous pooches." Giant Stonehenge-size bones add an appetizing look for the four-legged patrons. All of the necessities needed for washing and grooming a dog are available, including warm water, shampoo, grooming mitt, wash cloth, apron, towel, brush, blow dryers, ear cleaner and grooming products. And the best part? "We clean up afterwards!" Matos said.
Going national ... One year ago you read in this column about our local company P3M, which is in the advertising, marketing and website production business, expanding their facilities to include the old Kinko's building on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, while maintaining their headquarters on Monterey Avenue. Recently, due to an increase in business with the likes of IBM and UPS and, according to Roger Sanford, founder and president, "... three new San Francisco dot-com accounts totaling more than $12 million in billings," P3M is opening offices in San Francisco and Atlanta to be closer to UPS and other clients.
Number 3 ...The third of three businesses, which recently moved into 214 N. Santa Cruz Ave., is Austin Design. Owner Catherine Canfield has been in the Interior Design business for 15 years and has a complete design service for residential, commercial and remodel clients, covering the gamut from color schemes to fabrics, to wall and floor surface materials.
She is not new to Los Gatos, having spent five years at 540 N. Santa Cruz Ave.--the shopping area fronted by Trent Pottery, and has been the Interior Designer for a number of restaurants in Los Gatos, as well as for The Spa-Los Gatos at 100 S. Santa Cruz Ave. Canfield is a Certified Interior Designer, a graduate of Syracuse University with a bachelor of fine arts degree in interior design, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers and has been the secretary for the Interior Designers Guild.
Coming to Los Gatos ... Peninou French Laundry & Cleaners Inc. is taking the spot vacated by Kirk & Bob's Drive-in Pharmacy at 310 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road. "With store locations in San Francisco, South San Francisco and Menlo Park, and after hearing many requests from customers in the Los Gatos area, the company has decided to establish a location in the community of Los Gatos," according to Rich Baker, director of marketing. Baker describes it as a family-run business founded in 1903. Peninou is operated by the Edwards family, with experience spanning three generations in the laundry and dry cleaning industry. Brent Edwards is chairman; his son, Todd Edwards, is president, and his daughter, Michelle Edwards, is director of store and route operations. The company has received a number of national, local and customer awards, including the International Fabricare Institute's Best Dry Cleaner in California award. Specialties include museum quality restoration and preservation of wedding gowns and table linens. Peninou will also bring their complimentary home/office pick-up and delivery service to town.
Got a tip for Don Callahan's monthly business column? Fax him at 408.354.3917, or email at decallahan@home.com.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
