Mar 5, 2008

Waterfront gift, houseware shop survives winter floodBy Paige RichmondGateline.com

When Imagine Great Things owner Marge Pires closed her store on Jan. 6, she expected she would close her doors for only two days.

She didn’t anticipate that a broken water pipe would shut down her business for two months.

“We were positioned to do fabulous business,” said Pires, who first opened Imagine Great Things, a store that specializes in homeware and gift items, in late 2006.

After 18 months of running the shop, Pires and co-owner Janell Israel felt they had a “good feel for the market” along the Gig Harbor downtown waterfront, where the store is located.

Pires had seen a strong holiday season, where local shoppers took an interest in the hand-woven baskets, artisan pottery and hand-tooled jewelry that the store sold.

In early January, Pires was planning to adjust the store’s hours for a possible slowdown in business during the post-holiday season. Rather than staying open seven days a week — as the store had since its first day of business — Imagine Great Things would close on Mondays and Tuesdays beginning Jan. 7.

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