THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 15, 1994 TAG: 9407150790
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JANELLE LA BOUVE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 162 lines
LORRAINE LINEHAN'S large store - stocked with a sea of patchwork quilts, painted goose eggs and other special items - is a haven for area crafters and those who adore their work.
Her ``crafters' mall,'' as it's called, is one of two in Chesapeake. Both Linehan's Over the Rainbow on South Battlefield Boulevard and the second store, the Crafter's Delite, on Volvo Parkway, house the works of nearly 200 artists.
At both stores, customers can find unusual items like a wreath decorated with designer eggs or an apron covered with a stream of hand-painted ants scooting across a red-checkered surface.
There are pristine white collars and infants' clothing embellished with Battenburg lace. Padded fabric photo frames and Native American crafts also are sold.
The owner of Over the Rainbow is an artist herself. Linehan began selling her fabric dolls and hand-painted lawn furnishings while caring for her mother. In January, after her mother's death, she began making plans to open a business.
``My crafts were selling well, so I decided that since I had to start over, this would be my best shot,'' said Linehan, who also ran for the City Council in 1990. ``I started searching around to find the ideal spot.''
She spotted a 93-year-old building at 1513 S. Battlefield Blvd. The 1,700-square-foot building was on a well-traveled road, and Linehan said she ``heard the call of opportunity.'' She invested about $12,000 - ``the last of everything I owned'' - and began to build.
Linehan, her brother and a friend repaired and redecorated the old building, applying heavy coats of paint and, in some rooms, adding peg-board panels for hanging crafts.
Just about everything received a makeover before the building opened its doors as Over the Rainbow.
Now, the cupboard and old wooden cases are lined with jams, jellies and crafts. The narrow walls of a closed-in porch are covered with dried floral arrangements. Containers of silk floral arrangements are perched on shelves, and charming hand-crafted jewelry sparkles in the sunlight from open windows.
Linehan rents out sections inside to her crafters. Each 4-by-4-foot space has an 8-foot divider wall and costs about $70 a month.
``A new crafter may be leery about committing to that much money,'' she said. ``So I'm starting something new, it will be Chesapeake's first rent-a-shelf.''
For $10 a month, a crafter can rent a 5-foot or 6-foot shelf upstairs. Downstairs, shelves will rent for $15.
Currently, Linehan's crafters include single parents and senior citizens who live on a fixed income. About 18 of her 24 crafters are locals. They include Phil Allen, who makes lawn crafts; tole painters Debbie Sledge and Donna Cain; and Barbara Norris, who teaches at the shop and sells quilts, clothing and other items.
``I teach everything but sewing,'' Norris said. She also makes goose eggs, crochet works, tatting and duplicate stitching.
Looking outside Over the Rainbow, it's easy to see how the store got its name. Scattered across the store's front lawn are plywood characters straight out of the movie ``The Wizard of Oz.''
A yellow brick road leads visitors through the grass for a closer look at several lawn ornaments - Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Lion. A sign on the lawn proclaims, ``Ding Dong - The Witch Is Dead.'' And sure enough, the legs of the dead witch, wearing striped hose and ruby red slippers, protrude from beneath the front porch.
Linehan, however, isn't selling her ``Wizard of Oz'' theme pieces.
``I won't take orders for the Wizard characters, but most of our crafters gladly take orders,'' she said.
Linehan's Over the Rainbow isn't the only crafters' mall in Chesapeake. About 10 miles north of her store is another home for artists - Crafter's Delite.
The shop at 801 Volvo Parkway carries the creations of 145 crafters.
``For a lot of people, making crafts gives them an opportunity to earn money on the side,'' said Donna Przyboroski, one of the store's owners. ``They can see if what they have is marketable to the general retail public.''
Przyboroski, Linda Gleason and their spouses are joint owners of the store, which opened in November 1992. The 5,000-square-foot facility has 165 spaces that are rented for $30 to $140 a month, depending on the size of the section.
``It is centrally located,'' Przyboroski said. ``People now know where to come. Through word of mouth, people have found out about us.''
The Przyboroskis and Gleasons have a similar store in Virginia Beach.
Crafter's Delite's crafters mostly come from the Tidewater area. But some are from Yorktown, North Carolina and other areas.
``In the past, we have had folks from Pennsylvania and as far west as Arizona,'' Przyboroski said. ``You might say that we are international.''
One woman brings in items hand-crafted in Poland, and a Texas woman ships her crocheted ribbon baskets to the Crafter's Delite, she said.
``Some crafters sell more items than others,'' she said. ``Some have been with the store since it opened. They have definitely figured out our customer base.''
Things that sell best at Crafter's Delite are country floral arrangements, furniture and knickknacks.
``Customers like things that are made locally,'' Przyboroski said. ``Some folks have told us that they prefer buying things that are handmade to department store goods.
``Here, the prices are good, and there is a nice variety.''
Przyboroski says customer service has contributed to their success. ``We're almost on a first-name basis with a lot of customers now,'' she said.
Terry Massey, a Naval aviation structural mechanic, and his wife rent a booth at Crafter's Delite. He builds corner cabinets, shelves and benches. She makes crafts full time, specializing in hair pieces.
``My wife got us into this store in November 1992,'' Massey said. ``We were one of the first to get a booth. We have lots of customers, and we're going strong.''
As a rule, crafters are not expected to work in the store, Przyboroski said. But Massey does, working from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays.
Another crafter, Edith Gonzales, 60, has been making crafts for 17 years. Her husband, Efren, 48, also helps.
``I've been there longer than any of them,'' Gonzales said. ``I was the first one at Crafter's Delite in Virginia Beach. I've been there since the day they opened.''
Since the Chesapeake store opened, she has had crafts in both stores.
She likes the arrangement at Crafter's Delite.
``I can display them good,'' she said. ``I rent seven booths. If there's an empty booth that's not in use, they'll let me use it free. Linda and Donna will do anything to help you.''
The couple spend about 12 hours a day making crafts and can earn an average of $1,500 a month at one store.
Gonzales says her biggest sellers are country decor items. They incorporate a lot of hearts into their country designs. They make furniture, country wreaths, pictures, wall cabinets and shelves.
Her husband, who is disabled, does the cutting and hand painting. She buys most of her supplies at The Pottery Factory in Williamsburg but dries her own roses for floral arrangements.
``A lot is involved in drying roses,'' she said. ``You have to tie them individually with a string, dip them in a special solution, then hang them in the attic.''
It takes two to three weeks before they are sprayed again to preserve the flowers and leaves, Gonzales said. Then, the dried roses are used in arrangements and placed atop her booth, where they can be seen by those who love crafts. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
color on the Cover: Lorraine Linehan runs Over the Rainbow, a
crafters mall on south Battlefield Boulevard. Much of the shop
focuses on a ``Wizard of Oz'' theme.
Linda Gleason, a co-owner of Crafter's Delite, peers through a set
of wind chimes hanging in her store on Volvo Parkway.
Plywood silhouette lawn ornaments are displayed in front of Over the
Rainbow.
Lorraine Linehan rents sections and shelves to crafters in her
store, Over the Rainbow.
Jennifer Cuffee's ceramic sculptures are one of many handcrafted
items for sale in Crafter's Delite, a store on Volvo Parkway where
145 artists display their wares.
From beneath the front porch at Over the Rainbow, the legs of the
dead ``Wizard of Oz'' witch protrude. However, she's not for sale.
by CNB