MOVING to and fro ... Noreen McDowell catled Winnipeg home before moving west
where she now finds herself managing the Vespucci consignment store.

Rober Galster

News Reporter
robert@nsnews.com

FOR Da Vinci’s Christine
Fernandes staying busy is
the spice of life.

As one of the merchants along
West Vancouver's waterfront
Bellevue Avenue, Fernandes prefers
the hectic eee that owning a small
business offers.

“There’s never a dull
moment,” said
Fernandes. “I hate
being bored and‘ this is
a. -24-hour _ business
which is fine.”

The Sutherland
Secondary —_ graduate
took her time launching
the venture as she pon-
dered the what, where and how of
setting up a home accessories busi-
ness for nearly five years.

_ In the meantime, she worked
for the family business of trading in
spices.

“Pye always been in wholesale
and there isn’t much people contact
in wholesale and I wanted some-
thing with the public,” said
Fernandes.

Hatching a plan
Christine aratos and John Clark
met while they were both working at
a menswear store in Park Royal.

The two put their heads together
and before they knew it, they found
themselves starting their own ven-
ture which has since been known as
The Mensroom.

While Clark is
throughout West

well-known
Vancouver

Ciba:

Wednesday, August 12, 1998 — North Shore News —

north shore news

= BUSINESS

ae

ae ~ ii
NEWS photos Pas! McGrath

HATCHING a plan ... Christine Baracos was working in her first post-college grad-
uate job when she decided to start her own business along with a partner.

ells home accessories

through his involvement with the
West Vancouver Chamber of
Commerce, his partner has basked in
a more manageable level of recog-
nizability.

Baracos left Victoria at 18 to
attend Capilano College’s two-year
retail management program (since
renamed retail merchandising).

Upon graduating she took a job
with a menswear store in Park Roya!
which had advertised the position at
the school.

It was at thar store she met Clark

with whom she later hatched a
plan to strike out on their
own.

Neither has looked

back since and sales

have improved annually
since the store moved
to the area's strect side.

“Business is really, real-
ly good,” said Baracos. “We've
had steady increases since we
moved.”

te

Moving to and fro

Noreen McDowell has managed the
Vespucci consignment store almost
as long as it k:- been there. The
store opened in Oy tober °96 and she
came on buard on Nov. 15 of the
same year.

“I have never been experienced
with consignment store shoppii
and [I quite like it,” said McDowell
“It’s a fairly relaxed atmosphere to
work with.”

Her experiences do include a
wide variety of jobs and locales.
McDowell initially arrived — in
Vancouver from Winnipeg in 1974
with her husband who worked in
insurance.

She then took on running her

CLIP THIS

family-owned autobody repair shop
but returned to Winnipeg upon its
closure several years later without
her husband who has since become
an ex.

“1 hated Winnipeg,” said
McDowell of her impressions of her
home town.

As a result it didn’t take long
for her to return to the West Coast
where following a short stint ac Holt
Renfrew, she landed at Vespucci.

Language bygones

Milicu Bistro owner Mansour
Esmacili has been a stalwart on West
Vancouver’s coffee circuit for the
past five years.

Offering 2 relaxed atmosphere,
there is no shortage of peopie pop-
ping by to catch up on lost time or
to exchange the latest gossip.

Esmaeili himself loves te talk and
although it took him several years to
end up in Vancouver he doesn’t

regret settling in Canada.

Sorn in Iran, he left the country
to run a restaurant in London
England. Ten years later he was once
again on the move.

“(Because of a) lack of jobs in
England ! decided to move to
Canada,” said Esmaeili.

His venture first saw him move to
Montreal, but soon he realized the

See Language page 17

BELLEVUE’s best ... Christine Fernandes (left) of Da Vinci’s home accessories and framing and
Mitieu Bistro owner Mansour Esmaeili are on opposite sides of 1400 block Bellevue Avenue, but
they share their outlook on the community both businesses call home.

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