URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/biz/605002business10-25-07.htm

Thursday, October 25, 2007
Sway, Shop, Fix It, and See Local Saguaros
By Susan Stiger
Of the Journal
    "What would it be like?" is one way to start a business. Or not.
    When about a dozen women mused about opening a movement studio— the pros, the cons— they decided to pass. Then one of them freaked when she'd reserved a studio for a class and found it had been double-booked. The women reconsidered. They found a great place. They fixed it up— putting in a birch plywood floor over polystyrene foam.
    One thing after another fell into place, and it's just not wise to try to stop a snowball once it's barreling downhill carving a path for your calling.
    If you like graceful exercise— dance-like but still aerobic and, best of all, in bare feet— the women had you in mind when they opened Studio Sway at 105 Jefferson NE, just north of Central between Washington and San Mateo.
    Nobody actually owns the business, says Beth O'Neall, but her name is on the lease. For now, the focus is on Nia— nonimpact aerobics that combine dance with martial and healing arts. The teachers are Ana Edwards, Elizabeth Johnson, Erin Damour, Judy Cates, Margo Morado and Maureen Small, as well as O'Neall. Other options are klezmer dance with Michele Diel; Mindful Movement with Judy Green and Tribal Fusion Bellydance with Megan Martyn. A barefoot boogie class is coming, too. As the operation expands, you might find Pilates, yoga, Feldenkrais and more. Movement teachers are welcome; experienced ones will mentor new ones, O'Neall says.
    The studio is open only during classes, which so far, are happening mostly in the evenings and mornings with one on Saturday and an occasional Sunday special. The schedule will change as more teachers and students come on board. Go to www.studiosway.com to see what's going on. O'Neall says the classes are designed for "any body," regardless of size, shape or activity level.
    If you're not a gym rat, runner, bicycler or sport, the snowball may be coming your way. Improved health is the goal, although participants can achieve weight loss as well. For more information, call O'Neall at 244-9157. Numbers for individual teachers are listed on the Web site.
    MARKETPLACE N.M. TO OPEN: For bargain hunters, this may just be the equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. The former Kmart at Lomas and Louisiana is scheduled to reopen by Thanksgiving as Marketplace New Mexico— 108,000 square feet of everything from makeup to car wax to local art to fudge to footballs to sweaters to wrenches to dutch ovens to mp3 players, and more, more, more. For less, less, less.
    L.A. transplants Edward Chernow and Don Wilden own the space, which will hold as many as 330 vendors, selling at 40 to 80 percent off retail prices. Brand names, big names, close-outs, leftovers. More like a Tuesday Morning than a Costco (no two-gallon mayonnaise jars), but with more stuff, Chernow says. Internet, cable, cell and regular phone services will also be offered at a discount, as will a "put-it-on-eBay" service.
    Hunger is likely to ensue, so sniff around for baked goods, candies, delicacies and— get ready, InOut Burger fans— an InOut clone probably called Heavenly Hamburgers. (Chernow says the InOut chain is not ready to franchise in New Mexico, so he's hired a former I&O general manager. "Duplicate it," he told him.) That means nothing frozen, nothing on the grill before you order it, garnish to your liking. But hang on, the burgers aren't expected until April.
    Although few of the nonconsumable products will be made in the United States, 99 percent of the vendors will be local, Chernow says. A few stations are still available. For more information, call (505) 265-4100.
    "You have no idea how much I can't wait to shop at my own place," he says.
    ACE, IN A NEW SPOT: When the Rio Grande Ace Hardware on Tramway closed in May, some of you do-it-yourselfers suffered from empty toolbox syndrome. How could you go on? What's a nail without a hammer? A screw without a driver? I'd continue, but doing it myself usually involves my index finger and a phone number.
    Good news for those of you who swoon to the scent of sawdust, the whir of the drill, the feel of fine sandpaper in your bandaged hands. Ace has reopened at 7847 Tramway NE. Go, fix something, build something. Break something and then fix it. Make a Christmas list and shoot off an e-mail to Santa. Everything is going to be all right.
    And put this on speed dial: 553-7777. Dennis and Barbara Coca, who own an Ace in Taos as well, are standing by to take your call.
    PARDON MY "EXTRUSION": Where to begin: extrusion, saguaros, still more polystyrene, the Play-Doh Fun Factory. This job is an education.
    So there I was, trying to understand the concept of extruded polystyrene, when my colleague, a techy sort, described extrusion as the very process used by the Play-Doh Fun Factory.
    At first I was delighted, as I needed to understand how Desert Faux Creations makes 4- to 60-foot saguaros out of polystyrene, but then I began to wonder, what does this say about how he sees me? That he must explain a manufacturing process in terms of a child's toy? Then again, he has a collection of clocks on his desk, while I have a Matchbox-size yellow convertible with a hotdog at the wheel and a bobble-head Maytag repairman with his bobble-head dog. OK then.
    Desert Faux Creations is a side arm of Steer Luxury Homes, owned by Annette Gallegos and David McDonald. McDonald is the one with the wacky sense of humor— and proportion.
    To peruse the polystyrene waterfalls, dolphins, pilaster covers, columns, boots and more, visit the showroom at 4931 Prospect NE. Just be aware, a 2-foot boot goes for about $795. A natural-color 4-foot saguaro goes for $1,250. That's a lot more than a yellow plastic convertible with a hotdog at the wheel. But as MasterCard knows, to me, it's priceless.
    For further information, call 888-FAUX.
    OR PARDON MY EMISSIONS: You don't have to have your car washed before you head to Greg Howland's FasTesT Emissions, but you may wish you had. Howland put professional-grade garage floor epoxy in the space at Eubank and Lomas, with a business plan to mop it every day. Oil won't soak into it. Tire marks should wash away. I feel dirty just thinking about the sparkling space.
    After seven years working in emissions, Howland got tired of the dirt, the smell, the understandable reactions from customers who thought it safer to stay in their cars during the test. When the time was right for his moment under the hood, he built a wider building with a storage area for his supplies, an office for himself and a heated and cooled seating area with magazines and newspapers for his customers. You'll be able to see what he's doing without soaking up that garage ambiance.
    Howland hopes to open five more locations, the first scheduled to arrive in another couple of months at San Mateo and Aztec (between Candelaria and Comanche). He'll charge $17 for a test, which includes tax. As soon as he gets a license to do so, he'll add vehicle registrations to his list of offerings— $16.
    A lot of grease is involved in his business— the elbow kind. "It's neglect makes them dirty," he says.
    Call me with any retail or restaurant news or questions at 823-3820 or e-mail to sstiger@abqjournal.com.

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