To the outside observer, Susan Stark appears to be standing in a bright, empty building. But she sees a space filled with home decor, furniture, gifts, clothing and jewelry.
“It’s all in my head right now,” said Stark, looking around the newly renovated building that will become the new home of Captivating Details this week in downtown Qualicum Beach.
Stark, 52, is an interior designer by trade. But she made a made a foray into the retail side of home decor when she and her daughter, Grace, relocated from Calgary in 2014 to open Captivating Details in a shop in the Arbutus Mall on Second Avenue.
The shop will hold its final day of business in the mall Tuesday, Sept. 26, then reopen Oct. 1 at 152 Second Ave. W., less than a block up the street.
“The goal was always to buy our own building, but there was nothing suitable at the time,” said Stark, who was smitten with downtown Qualicum Beach upon her arrival and knew she wanted to locate her shop there. “This (new) building came up for sale last summer and spent zero days on the market. I knew it would be just right, and the location is one of the best in town.”
The new location, a corner spot at Second and Primrose, is in a building originally constructed as a residential duplex sometime in the 1970s, said Stark. When she and Grace bought it last summer, it was being leased to a massage therapist, a barber and a podiatrist.
“It was chopped up into all these little spaces,” Stark said. “But even then, I could envision the big picture of what it would look like.”
The new space will provide between 300 and 400 additional square feet compared to their current location. While their mall shop has just one window to the street and accessed is gained via a breezeway, the new store will have five windows to showcase “Grace’s fabulous window displays,” said Susan.
Captivating Details offers a dizzying array of home decor, from wall-hangings, mirrors and art to lamps, vases, glass globes and jars to bookends and coasters.
In addition to coffee-table books, gift cards, scarves and hardwood furniture, the shop carries custom furniture designed by Susan’s oldest son, Zac, and jewelry created by Grace.
In all, it is a cornucopia of glass, metal, wood and fabric, with hardly a sighting of plastic to be found.
While much of the stock has an antique or “distressed” look, Susan said 95 per cent of the material is new, with five per cent consisting of reclaimed or repurposed items.
“We’re always reviewing what sells and what’s new,” said Susan, who noted many of Captivating Details’ repeat customers are those who return regularly to check out the constantly rotating good she and Grace bring through the shop.
“We want to bring in things that are timeless.”
Contact Captivating Details at 250-594-9099 or visit www.captivatingdetails.com.
