The store, which is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., is run by York-Melcher, her husband, Chris Melcher, and her brother, Ethan York. Melcher and York both build rustic furniture and fill custom orders Monday through Wednesday, and York-Melcher uses the furniture painting skills taught to her by her grandmother to give new life to older pieces.
“We also carry antiques, a little bit of everything salvaged or reclaimed,” York-Melcher said. Their specialties include taking “an ugly piece and making it beautiful,” she said.
“Someone will ask, can you make this? Nine times out of 10, we can,” she said.
Having grown up in Hamilton, York-Melcher wanted to start a store that she felt had been lacking in the area.
“I saw some development on High Street and Main Street, and thought, this is an opportunity to bring something different to Hamilton,” she said.
She added that so far, the business has been doing great.
“A lot of people like that we’re open on Sundays,” she said.
Lisa Weaver opened her retail store, Secretly Shabby, at 231 Main St. on July 25. A self-described mix of “shabby chic” re-purposed and repainted furniture, new jewelry and linens, vintage wares, and a learning center for wood-based and furniture painting, the store sits next to fellow upcycler and consignment stores Fabulous Finds Estate Liquidators, 233 Main St., and the Bargain Bungalow, 235 Main St.
“The more of these types of shops pop up, the more people will visit,” she said.
She said she got started painting and re-purposing furniture about two or three years ago, when she wanted to redo her dining room table.
“So I started investigating what chalk paint was, and I’m a pastor’s wife, so I’ve learned how to re-purpose everything,” she said.
A first-time business owner, Weaver is excited to be on the front line of revitalizing the Main Street corridor.
“I’m really trying to invest in Hamilton and give it a chance,” she said. “I can see it becoming something really neat and cute.”
“I really felt that if I were going to do something in Hamilton, I needed to be on the main drag,” she added.
Secretly Shabby is open Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Paint classes occur Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7 p.m.
Co-owners Dr. Manju Kejriwal, DDS, and her sister-in-law Neelam Goel opened MK Dental Excellence at 116 N. Second St. last September after the success of their 20-year practice in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Madeira. By mid-October, they plan to have an upscale spa running in the building next door.
“We decided to open a spa both because we have a passion for it, and there was demand in Hamilton,” Goel said. She called the future spa a “one-stop shop for any cosmetology needs,” and said that the location would provide nails, facials, massages, waxing, threading, makeup, and eyelash services.
“Our team will have a purely holistic approach,” she said. All products used will be organic and all-natural. Massage options will include poultice massages, reiki, hot stone, and prenatal.
The spa would also house an event room in the center of the 3,000-square-foot space, available to rent out for city employees’ making a spa date or for bridal parties to prepare, Goel added.
Business at the dentistry has been “very successful,” according to Goal, who said that the practice sees more than 200 patients a month.
Goel and Kejriwal are awaiting city approval to begin construction, which will take four to six weeks once begun. While spa hours have not been decided yet, they will be open Saturdays, Goel said. They expect to hire six to seven full-time or part-time employees, including two managers who have already been hired.
A Dayton Lane couple plan to turn their property on Campbell Avenue into a small-scale resale shop by September.
At the June 11 Hamilton City Council meeting, council approved for two adjoining properties on North Seventh Street and Campbell Avenue, to be rezoned from an R-3 residential district to a B-1 neighborhood business district. Law attorney Michael Braun, who owns the property on Campbell Avenue, said that his wife plans to open a small boutique resale shop called the Front Room on Seventh there.
“It’s been something she’s had in the back of her mind,” he said. The shop would carry soaps, candles, and re-purposed household items, with the hope of selling more upscale items as time passes.
Braun, who serves as a member of the Dayton Lane Historic Area, said that the building’s history drew them to purchase it in 2007.
“It dates back to 1892, and was actually a grocery store for many years,” he said.
“This is something that’s different, that’s out of the box, but I think it’s a positive thing for the neighborhood,” he said.
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