The Mountain-Ear
The voice of the Peak to Peak
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| Written by administrator | |
| Wednesday, 02 December 2009 | |
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Barbara Lawlor NEDERLAND Underwear. Levis. Girls’ Levis with bling. Carhartts, big and small. And don’t forget Legos, says Ben Nichols, wearing a Carhartt T-shirt. Ben’s High Country Emporium will be opening within the next couple of weeks, permits permitting, and five year old Ben is thrilled. “My mom is opening a store so I can have a family business after I go to college,” says this young entrepreneur. “I created the name.” Actually, his mom Deb Nichols is opening the store, which will be located in the former bakery next to the Kwik Mart, because she wants to provide goods that are not now available to Ned shoppers. She wants to sell the items that mountain residents have to go down below to find. Deb moved to the area in 1999 when she worked for the Gilpin County Library. After attending DU for her master’s degree in library science, she moved to Nederland. She and her husband Mike had Ben in 2004. Deb worked at the Boulder Library and the Jefferson County Library until she discovered that she had stage two breast cancer. Her mother and grandma were diagnosed at the same time and Deb was advised to have a bilateral mastectomy. While she underwent post surgery treatment she and Ben lived in an apartment near the hospital. After a year and a half of recovery, they moved back to Nederland. “I was trying to find something to do close to home, and I want to have something to give my child when we’re retired.” Her husband Mike became friends with the owners of the building when he delivered propane to the area and in October Deb decided to begin a business. She thought first of her own needs, saying she always had to go to Boulder to find Jeans for her son, or work clothes for Mike. And underwear in Ned was out of the question. When she worked at Ace Hardware she began making a mental list of things that visitors asked for. Several times she had people looking for stockings, saying they were going to a wedding. Her list of inventory is a work in progress, but so far they include: towel and sheet sets, boots, slippers, long underwear, snowsuits for kids, unisex thermal wear, kids toys and more. To cater to the local teens sports, there will be skateboard and snowboard clothing as well as tennis and hiking gear in the summer. Deb plans to set aside an area which will become the locals’ corner. She says this feature will allow to support local groups by displaying their logo clothing; such as the Sundance, Dam Liquor, Wild Bear, Play-Ground Theater and other local businesses. She welcomes any locals who want to display their logo wear to call 303-642-0501. Although she in the process of remodeling the building, one of the features she looks forward to is the neon sign in the front window with mountain peaks and a climber. The sign is in honor of her grandfather who died last year and started the Gordon Sign Company in 1904. Harry Gordon hand painted signs for retail stores all over Denver and his sons Leonard and Edward then started one of Denver’s larges neon sign companies in Colorado. Gordon Neon co. created signs that became classic landmarks through the years and some of them are "still shining brightly throughout Denver today." Having Ben’s Emporium neon sign in the shop window is continuing a family tradition and a part of Colorado history, says Deb. When her grandfather died, she received the money that could make starting her business possible. Deb says that Ben will be responsible for the Lego inventory. “I don’t want to compete with shops already here,” says Deb. “I won’t buy duplicate products. I want maintain a good relationship with all the businesses in town.” Deb welcomes input from the community and suggestions |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 December 2009 ) |
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