Melanie Rene Jewelry to open in former Emmert’s Jewelry & Repair on East Central

July 7, 200911:22 a.m.

WICHITA — After 35 years in business, Emmert’s Jewelry & Repair at 4618 E. Central closed, but a new jewelry store is opening in its place.

Melanie Williamson hopes to open her Melanie Rene Jewelry by Aug. 1.

The custom designer says, “I do real modern, contemporary stuff, but I also will do remounting, repair, appraisal — everything.”

Williamson grew up in Wichita, went to the University of Kansas and never returned home until now.

Initially, she studied graphic design, but she says one bad teacher caused her to change her focus.

Williamson took an elective class that piqued her interest and caused her to shift her major to metalsmithing.

Eventually, she opened Gemesis Jewelers in Las Vegas, which she had for five years. She closed the shop three years ago but decided she wants to get back in the business full time.

Williamson says she’s “done with Vegas.”

“I was there almost 10 years. It’s really hard to get a business going there right now.”

Williamson likes that her new space is close to the popular Bella Luna Cafe.

Her mother, Barbara Williams of Prudential Dinning-Beard, helped her find it.

And though Williamson says she’s a very different jeweler than Jim Emmert is, she likes that she’ll occupy the East Central space where he was for 15 of his 35 years in business.

“It was previously a jewelry store, and everybody knows it’s a jewelry store,” Williamson says. “I’m just kind of relying on the old foot traffic.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , Filed under Retail | Comments (1)

Round barn to be home to an events venue

April 10, 20096:05 p.m.

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Terri and Jon Reece both have day jobs — she’s a real estate agent with Prudential Dinning-Beard, and he’s a restaurant manager – but they’re now opening a business together.

The couple bought what’s known as the “round barn” at 9449 S. Woodlawn south of Derby and plan to open an events venue there.

“I would like it to eventually be my job,” Jon Reece says. “We’d like to see what this turns into.”

The yellow barn, which turns 100 next year, is well known in the area.

“Everybody just knows where it is and what is is,” Terri Reece says. “Most people see it when they’re coming down K-15.”

Benton Steele, whom Reece describes as the Frank Lloyd Wright of barn building, built the barn. Two wings were added in the ’40s, and the barn eventually held a medical clinic, an antiques shop and was used for church services and other functions.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , Filed under New business | Comments (2)

Nothing personal, dude

March 30, 20097:57 a.m.

steven-pix

Don’t know if you had a chance to read my article on the Steven family last week. You’d need to set aside about 20 minutes to get through the whole thing. After all, there are a lot of Stevens. Eleven children and — I didn’t stop to count — who knows how many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, uncles, aunts and cousins.

One part of the story included a sidebar on some of those extended family members. I tried to be clear that I wasn’t including everyone, but real estate agent Gary Steven still was a little surprised not to see himself.

“Everybody’s called me and gone, ‘What’s happened to you?’ ” he says.

Sorry, Gary. No disrespect.

For the record, he’s with Prudential Dinning-Beard.

For more pictures of the family — and, alas, Gary, I don’t think you’re in them — check out our Steven photo gallery.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (6)