Imagine-ation

The Lyric Theatre in Warren, Rhode Island, opened a century ago, and for 60 years showed films on its big screen. Later, it served time as an antique center and a health club (there's still a swimming pool in the basement). So when Emily Calandrelli and Gene Oberhauser bought the historic building in March 2004, they knew they had a versatile piece of property. The pair also knew they had their work cut out for them turning the space into a new home for their gift store, Imagine. Making things even more challenging, the lease on their present store in nearby Barrington had just ten weeks left to run. They had a limited budget and would have to do much of the work themselves.

Business partners Calandrelli and Oberhauser have plenty of business experience. Gene ran stationery, gift, and scrapbooking stores in California before moving back East, and over the years he bought costume jewelry from Emily's family business. They worked well together and knew they could be successful retailers when they opened the first Imagine in 2001.

Wanting to restore some of the movie house's former glory, the pair unearthed a 1929 photo of the marquee, sporting a picture of a clown. That was a clue as to the playful spirit they wanted in their store.

The front facade was brightened up with bold colors highlighting the ornate details. Large windows along the side of the building provided a lot of natural light, but also a lot of glare when the sun sat just right. To dampen the glare, their designer, Jay Massa of Stafford Design/Build, came up with a special fabric printed with eye-catching graphics promoting the store's merchandise. The fabric was mounted on aluminum frames attached to the outside of the windows, letting natural light shine through while shading the interior from the brightest rays.

The owners of Imagine also grappled with a challenge most gift stores don't have to face: where to pasture their cattle. Several years ago, Oberhauser purchased sculptures from the famous public art project, Cow Parade. Warren's town officials were eager to see the cows displayed, and after some reinforcing work on the bovines was completed, “Blue Cow” and “The Divas” were mounted on the side of the Lyric, 20 feet above ground.

Inside, the amount of open space is what Imagine's owners liked best about the three-story former theater. “Visually it's pretty dramatic,” says Calandrelli, “When people walk in, you can see all three levels at once.”

But messing around with a century-old building with no blueprints and antique plumbing and wiring can reveal a lot of surprises; fortunately, not all of them bad. In one case, Emily and Gene discovered the theater's original tin ceiling and box office windows, both of which have become showpieces of the completed store. The original pine floors were sanded and sealed, carpeting was installed on the stairs, and hundreds of feet of hand railing surrounding all that open space was painted purple.

To merchandise the space, Emily and Gene allocated different product categories to each floor. The main floor offers 4,000 square feet of traditional and fun gifts including gourmet foods, jewelry, clothing, candy, and women's accessories. The second floor showcases 2,800 square feet of cards, more gifts, garden, papers, and wall decor. And on the third level there is 1,800 square feet of tabletop, wine accessories, and related items. Finally, baby and children's products perch on the 1,500-square-foot-balcony of the third floor.

Of course, no movie house is complete without a candy counter. Imagine has done it one better by installing a 900-square-foot cafe, called the Lyric Twist, a '50s themed black-and-white space that dishes up Hershey's ice cream, Nathan's hot dogs, and other nostalgic diner delicacies.

The new Imagine opened on July 4, 2004. Since then, sales have been up 20 to 60 percent each month, and customer traffic has “increased dramatically,” says Gene.

Barbara Lehman, sales rep for Schurman Fine Papers, sums up Emily and Gene's accomplishment by saying, “They have created a place for people to take time out, to gather, to stop a while, meet with old friends in the cafe and to reminisce about days gone by. The friendly atmosphere and beautiful gift lines leave nothing more for the shopper to Imagine.”

A sense of “theater,” capitalizing on an historic environment, and designing a space that gives customers several shopping choices are among the reasons Gifts & Decorative Accessories chooses Imagine as a 2005 REA finalist in Store Design.