Family-owned photo studio opens in Valley
Uniquely U Images & Gallery, a photography studio that specializes in family portraits, senior and wedding pictures, and modeling photos, has opened in a space at 521 S. Pines, says Cheryl Allbee, who owns the business with her husband, Steve.

The studio currently is sharing space with the Allbees' other business, Custom Transmission Inc., and plans are in the works to move Uniquely U Images to a separate location within the next few months, she says.

The Allbees' daughter, Jamie Velandra, is working as the business's primary photographer, and her father and brother, Steve Jr., also work there.

Velandra says the business does in-studio work, as well as on-location photography, and clients can order prints in standard and custom sizes.

Velandra worked as a freelance photographer before starting Uniquely U Images with her family.

Medical aesthetic clinic moves to Manito area
Inland Aesthetic Institute LLC, an affiliate of Spokane-based Inland Vascular Institute, has leased one of two new, 4,500-square-foot medical buildings at 1923 S. Grand, just east of Manito Park on the South Hill, and has moved its office there.

Carol Braaten, the company's office manager, says the medical aesthetics practice has been operating out of Inland Vascular Institute's North Side location, at 212 E. Central, but needed more space.

The company was started in 2008 largely because of requests by patients for services, Braaten says. Physicians at Inland Vascular, which itself is a division of Inland Imaging LLC, of Spokane, had been performing a procedure to remove varicose veins for some time, and patients had been seeking cosmetic procedures. The practice since has been expanding into the field of medical aesthetics, offering procedures such as a form of liposuction called "Smartlipo" that uses a laser to rid the body of targeted fat tissue. It also offers facials, body scrubs and wraps, and massages, Braaten says.

The business employs six people and occupies one of two adjoining medical buildings there.

Spokane gynecologist Cristian Andronic is leasing most of the other building, located on the north side of the complex, Braaten says.

The leasing agent who handled the Inland Aesthetic transaction is Jeff McGougan, from NAI Black, of Spokane. The medical-dental office buildings were developed in 2007 by Jamesee LLC, of Spokane.

Nonprofit thrift store moves to larger space to meet rising demand
The Idaho Youth Ranch Thrift Store, in Coeur d'Alene, has moved into a 7,600-square-foot space at 845 N. Fourth, from a smaller space a short distance away at 811 N. Fourth, says a press release issued by the nonprofit organization.

Idaho Youth Ranch's stores sell donated used items, such as clothing, household goods, and furniture. The profits generated from the stores are used to operate five residential treatment homes throughout the state of Idaho, including one in Coeur d'Alene. The organization also offers family counseling and foster-care services.

Idaho Youth Ranch is moving the store to a larger space because it sees a "window of opportunity for thrift stores in the current economy," and also due to an 18 percent increase in revenue last year among the organization's various businesses, says Neal Jones, vice president of retail operations. Along with thrift stores, those businesses include bargain centers, vehicle lots, distribution and recycling, and e-commerce activities, he says. He adds that relocating to a larger space will help the organization serve the North Idaho area better. Of the 26 stores operating in Idaho, only one is located in North Idaho.

The store is open seven days a week, and also serves as a donation center.

New owner buys Grounds & Grub, revamps menu
Rachelle Latapie, of Spokane, says she has bought Grounds & Grub, a drive-through business located at 4102 S. Bowdish that provides beverages and food items.

She says she has revamped the menu, which now includes bagels, scones, salads, hot and cold deli sandwiches, and take-and-bake pizza, as well as an assortment of hot and cold drinks.

Latapie says she's purchased new refrigerators for the business and plans to repaint the building. She says she also intends to set up an outdoor seating area for customers once the weather allows.

Latapie previously worked as a bookkeeper and office assistant for a real estate development company here, and says she also has hospitality management experience.

Grounds & Grub is open six days a week, and Latapie currently is its sole employee.

Printing shop here changes name, ends franchise affiliation
PIP Printing & Document Services, located here at 4201 E. Trent, says it has ended its longtime affiliation with the nationally franchised printing services company that also operates under that name and has changed its name to Plese Printing.

Kim Plese, president and co-owner of the commercial print shop, says in a press release that the decision not to renew the franchise agreement was difficult, but because the company saved money by ending the franchise agreement, it has been able to add new equipment and staff.

The newest piece of equipment is a Heidelberg Druckmaschinen printing press, through which the business has been able to increase its printing sheet-size capabilities, says the press release.

Plese Printing's services include commercial printing, custom design, marketing, direct mailing, binding and laminating, fulfillment, archiving, and black-and-white and color printing.

Plese owns the 20-year-old business with her husband, Marc Shapori, and the business employs about 13 people.

In-home window design business opens
Spokane resident and interior designer Kriss Hook says she has begun operating an Exciting Windows! franchise here and is offering in-home window design and installation services for custom draperies, blinds, shades, shutters, and valances.

Hook, who has 28 years of design experience, says she specializes in "creating personalized designs of custom drapery and window coverings," and emphasizes the function of window coverings as well as their style.

Exciting Windows! Network LLC, of Bethesda, Md., has more than 100 franchise operations in the U.S., and says it's able to offer design products at low prices by using its national buying power. Hook's franchise is the first Exciting Windows! in Washington state, the company says.

Whitestone Winery to open tasting room
Whitestone Winery, a Wilbur, Wash.-based wine producer, will open a tasting room and store here on April 17, at 111 S. Cedar, in an 800-square-foot space adjacent to the Rocket Bakery, says Michael Haig, Whitestone's head winemaker.

Whitestone grows merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and cabernet franc grapes at its vineyard located near Lake Roosevelt, north of Wilbur, and makes its wines exclusively from those grapes, Haig says.

The Spokane location will be open Thursdays through Saturdays year-round and eventually will replace Whitestone's tasting room and store in Wilbur, says Haig. He says wine-making operations that are currently housed in Wilbur will be moved to the company's more remote vineyard location, but those plans are still about two years away.

Whitestone has hired a full-time tasting room manager for the new location here, and that person also will work to promote the wine in the Spokane area, says Haig.