^Mae
One may think that the out
standing aspect about the
Omnia Gift Shoppe, 3201
Beatties Ford Road in the
Bitsy Bounty Shopping Cen
ter, is its longevity...10 years.
But what keeps the customers
coming back is the caring and
personal treatment rendered
by the owner, Mae Orr. “I
care about my customers
personally and I try to cater to
Their needs. Most are very
selective and the gifts found in
Omnia Gift Shoppe cannot be
found in every store." Person
al and home traditional gifts
can be found in the shoppe but
the specialties add a tinge of
adventure: ceramics,
macrame, custom silk floral
arrangements by Leroy Wray,
handmade clocks made ex
pressly for Omnia Gift Shoppe
and now a new feature: por
traits by Brenda Yeargin.
“These are the unique offer
ings that attract the custom
ers,” Mrs. Orr continued. “I
make it a point to get to know
what my customers like and
what is flattering to them.”
The shoppe also carries an
array of baby fashions and
items, jewelry and a cos
metic line that is color-coded.
Mrs Orr, also a health teach
er at Alexander Junior igh I
School, received her B.S. de
gree in physical education
from Johnson C. Smith Uni
versity and her master’s de
gree in education from N.C.
Central University.
I Vmieim!nde^urk
Millie Dennis, Alma Ashley,
and Vemell Funderburk
teamed up to open The
Wedding Place in 1981. The
three women had worked to
gether at another bridal
salon and knew the business
well. Vemell has 24 years
experience in planning for
weddings, and among the
three of them, experience
totals 32 years, H
“We all do everything,” is
how Vemell explains how she,
Millie and Alma divide the
work. Actually, Millie takes
care of the books, Alma
checks in merchandise and
calls customers, and Vemell
does the ordering.
Some of the special services
offered at The Wedding Place,
which is located at 223 East
'Poulevard, include redesign
ing old gowns when brides
bring in the wedding dresses
their mothers wore; making
their own head pieces, veils,
and hats; and making their
own flower girls’ dresses. In
fact, a bride can come to The
Wedding Place with her own
idea and the women at The
Wedding Place can usually
make her dream a reality.
Standard services offered
include consultatioh, re
designing necklines and
sleeves of gowns, matching
shoes, doing all alterations on
the premises, and pressing the
bride’s gown for both picture
taking and for the wedding.
Zander Green
An unfulfilling Job as a
V cashier propelled Zander
Green into the world of cos
metology.
“I had been a cashier for
seven years and I was unsa
tisfied with the low pay. I had
been watching other beauti
cians and I have always loved
styling hair, so I just decided
to enter the area,’’ recalled
Ms. Green
Ms. Green now works at
D’Essence Design No 2, lo
cated at 2628 Statesville Rd ,
and is elated about being in
the area of cosmetology. She
graduated from Bands College
of Beauty and has been li
censed since 1963.
Much of the credit to Ms.
Green’s start in the cosmeto
logy field she contributes to
her father. Willie Green
The mother of one daughter,
Stephanie. Ms. Green is a
member of Greenville Me
\ morial AME Church. At
D’Essence she specializes in
curls, perms and cuts.
Betty Simpson
Great American Fashions,
—located at Eastway Dr .-inside. Ill
NorthPark Mall, carries a line
of men’s dress and casual
clothing, as well as acces
sories and a large part of what
fashions are displayed
throughout the store is con
tributed to the store manager,
Betty Simpson.
Mrs. Simpson has been
working in men’s fashions for
several years. Her experience
_has made her a “true pro
fessional” in what is stylish
and appealing to men.
As manager of The Great
American Fashion Company,
Mrs. Simpson’s duties include
supervision of alterations, dis
plays, personnel and attend
ing trade shows. But to make a
long story short, Mrs. Simpson
really does it all.
Her career in men’s clothing
began as an alterations per
son for Mr. Hi-Style. Later she
was promoted to salesperson
and eventually she assumed
her present position. During
the course of her career Mr.
Hi-Style changed its name to
the Great American Fashion
Company.
In addition to her manage
rial duties, Mrs. Simpson still
enjoys working as a seam
stress. This hobby she per
forms both on and off the job.
The mother of six and the
wife of James Simpson, Mrs.
Simpson graduated from
Second Ward High School and
attends Friendship Baptist
Church.
Shelia Mungo
Shelia Mungo has been in
business since 1974. The owner
and manager of Beckwith
Beauty Boutique enjoys her
hairdressing and consultant
work. Admitting ‘T’ve always
liked fixing people up, chang
ing them around, and working
with fashion," Mungo's ser
vice* include manicures, fa
cials, hair cuta, styling, and
fashion consulting.
Beckwith Beauty Boutique
is located at DaleBrook
Professional Center, 2506
Beatties Ford Road. The
phone number is 392-0026.
A graduate of West Char
lotte High School, the bou
tique owner's educational cre
dentials Include Southeast
ern Beauty College, Bands
Beauty College in Qiarlotte,
and Kings College in Char
lotte, where she earned a
degree in fashion merchandis
•ng
The mother of one daughter, !
Javonne. Mungo belongs to St
Paul Community Baptist
Church, the National Hair
dressers Association, the
North Carolina Merchants
Association, and the NAACP.
Bessie Deas
r our months after return
ing to the field of cosmeto
logy, Bessie Deas, a 23 yeara
licensed beautician, opened
her own shop, LePetite Beauty
Center, located at 439 Brad
ford Dr.
She has been operating from
thisjocation for the past year
and a half.
Becoming self-employed
has always been important to
Mrs. Deas. Maybe it is be
cause she enjoys the free
dom, as well as the responsi
bility that being in business
for herself entails.
One of her main objectives
at LePetite is to <make the
woman, age 40 and over, feel
good about herself. For Mrs.
Deas that means teaching her
about skin care, health care,
and giving tips on how to apply
make-up.
Cosmetology has always
been an area that has ap
pealed to Mrs. Deas Accord
ing to her, it's 'rar^ to be
given a chance to work in a
field that you love and make
good money from it, too
A 30 year member of Mt.
Moriah Primitive Baptist
Church, Mrs. Deas loves to
read, go out to eat, meet
people, talk and make new
plans. She is the mother of five
and the grandmother of one
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Mamie Jones
■ “Keeping the customers
happy is the most important
aspect of my job,” emphasizes
Mamie Jones, supervisor at
Hair Original Beauty Center
As supervisor, Jones explains
that she has numerous and I
varied duties which all relate
to the ultimate responsibility
of customer satisfaction.
But keeping customers con
tented is a loving chore for
Jones She says, "I’ve always
liked people. In my job, it
gives me joy to see the glow on
people’s faces that comes
from satisfaction."
Jones has worked with Hair
Original, located at 2020 N
Graham St., for five years
"It’s a marvelous place to
work,” she relates “It has so
much to offer."
Owned by Eloise Ferguson, \
Hair Original offers the total
beauty and grooming experi
ence for both men and women.
Specifically, a person can
completely indulge in such
cosmetic features as facials,
manicures, pedicures, hair
styles and cuts An extra at
| traction is the center’s ex
ercise room useful for keeping
the body toned. Yet if all you
want to do is relax, televi- 1
sion and reading materials
are at your disposal
One of Jones' responsibili
ties is to see to the clients’
comfort while they are at Hair
Original Plus she must also
see to the progress of her staff
of five
Betty Pride
expansion is the smartest
movp for business owners but
there’s no need to tell that to
Betty Pride. With her busi
ness, All World Tours, just
over a year old she has al
ready progressed to the point
of re-establishing her com
pany to a new, more con
venient location. Plus, the new
location, Pride-Ross Em
porium at 5648 North Tryon
St., is a mall-like structure>
housing several other minor
ity-owned businesses and
Pride is part owner of this
market place.
All World Tours officially
opened in January 1984 as a
professional ti'avel advisory
company for businesses and
individuals. Pride’s company
is computerized using the
Eastern Airlines System 1
This technology allows her
direct access to all major air
lines’ inventory, major rental
car agencies, and almost all
major hotels. The result. All
World Tours is capable of
checking fares and times and
confirming reservations for
travel and hotel accommo
dations in a matter of mi
nutes saving the client bo’.l!
time and trouble.
Additionally, All World
Tours offers complete sight
seeing packages specifically
to Atlantic City, New Jersey,
and Disney World, Florida
Also, an extension of the bu
siness is its bus charter com
pany.
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