Wildflowers Vintage opens in Millwood

 

Wildflowers Vintage, a furniture and home décor store, has opened in the Millwood neighborhood, at 3201 N. Argonne Road. 

The store is owned and operated by John and Brittnie Sochte and their business partner Joy Arch, who are its sole employees. 

“We all live in the neighborhood and have some mutual friends,” says Arch. “I noticed this building was open, so I mentioned it to Brittnie, and before you know it, we were signing a lease.” 

Arch says the company is leasing two storefront spaces formerly occupied by Company Ballet School from Spokane Valley-based rental agency All Management LLC.

Arch says between the two spaces, Wildflowers occupies a total of about 2,400 square feet.

“We did have to do quite a bit of remodeling, but it looks really nice now,” she says. 

Arch says Wildflowers sells a mixture of vintage and antique furniture, home décor, lighting, and reproduction vintage items through a series of vendors. 

“We’ve gotten some great feedback from people who think this kind of shop was really what the neighborhood needed,” she says. “I’d previously operated a similar store, but John and Brittnie hadn’t, so it was nice to be able to bring my experience into this.”

Next fall, the company plans to remodel the shop’s basement space with the intention of using it for painting classes. 

“We’re selling a new kind of furniture and décor paint now, and I’d like to make that space available for hosting painting classes,” Arch says.

—LeAnn Bjerken

 

 

Mobile spray tan service starts here

 

Jessica Davis, of Spokane, has started Mobile Spray Tanning Co., serving the metropolitan Spokane area and including Cheney and Coeur d’Alene. 

Davis says she previously had lived in larger metropolitan areas and decided to launch such a company here.

“I started looking around and realized that Spokane didn’t have a mobile tanning service,” she says.

Working out of her sport utility vehicle, Davis is able to transport all of her necessary supplies to the homes of her scheduled clients. Upon arrival, Davis does a 10-minute consultation before setting up portable, pop-up tents that serve as tanning stations, she says.

An entire session lasts 30 to 45 minutes. Davis, who doesn’t have a physical tanning salon, has one other employee who also provides mobile service.

“We’re developing a clientele and trying to build it out by word-of-mouth,” she says.

Davis says she’s actively promoting business to include group tans, special packages for weddings, rehearsal dinners, or friends going on vacation.

“I just did a group of ladies getting ready to head to Hawaii for a trip. We try to make it a fun evening for the girls,” she says.

—Kevin Blocker

 

 

Indaba Coffee set for Kendall Yards

 

Indaba Coffee Roasters owner Bobby Enslow says he plans to open a third coffee shop, this one in Kendall Yards, by the end of 2017 or early 2018.

“I’m super excited to be deep in the neighborhood,” says Enslow of the planned new shop that will occupy part of a building that’s to be constructed off West Summit Parkway near its intersection with Nettleton Street. “It’ll basically be overlooking the Centennial Trail; we’ll have garage doors and a patio that will allow people to just walk in from the trail.”

Enslow says Spokane-based Uptic Studios Inc. has designed Indaba’s 1,150 square feet of leased space. Indaba will share the new building with an unidentified restaurant. Construction, which recently started, is expected to be finished by the end of the year, Enslow says.

“I’m not even sure which restaurant it’ll be. Apparently, they want to keep it secret for a while,” he says.

As for Indaba, the coffee shop will feature a homemade donut shop and will have a mini-roasting facility on-site where customers can watch the grinding and coffee preparation process, he says.

“We’re hoping to make it a fun community space,” he says.

Enslow expects the store to staff between eight to 10 employees when it opens. Other Indaba coffee shops are located at 1425 W. Broadway and 210 N. Howard. Each of those shops have between six to eight employees on staff during business hours, he says.

—Kevin Blocker

 

 

New shuttle service launched in Spokane

 

A new transportation service called Inland Rides has begun offering service to customers in the greater Spokane area. 

The business provides transportation to Spokane and North Idaho customers traveling to and from the Spokane International Airport and to outlying areas extending up to Sandpoint and Priest Lake. 

Scott Sloan owns the business and is one of its two employees. 

“Technically, we started in January, but we’re just now getting things going,” he says. “I couldn’t do much advertising until late May when all our licensing was finalized.”

Sloan, who moved to the Spokane area last year from Denver, says previous visits to the city inspired him to establish a transportation service. 

“I’d visited on business a few times and once for a wedding in Sandpoint,” he says. “During that wedding weekend, as we were shuttling people from the airport to Idaho, I realized a shuttle service would be convenient.” 

Sloan says Inland Rides is based on a similar shuttle service in Colorado that offers transportation to and from mountain towns and resort communities. 

“This area is similar in that it has a lot of ski resorts, vacation rentals, and wedding venues, so there’s a big demand for our services,” he says. 

Sloan operates Inland Rides out of his home, with customers calling in or booking rides online. Drivers meet the customer for pickup in one of the company’s two Suburbans. Customers also are supplied with a selection of movies and free snacks during the ride. 

Sloan says so far the company is still new and small enough that two drivers are able to handle all of its business. “Eventually I’d like to grow enough to add a third driver,” he says. 

Sloan says he also plans to adjust the company’s rates to a per-person system.  

“Our current rates are one way, not round trip,” he says. “For the Sandpoint and Spokane areas, we charge $150 for up to six people. For a ride to the Priest Lake area, we charge $200.” 

Sloan says customers also can rent the shuttle service for special events at a cost of $100 per hour.

—LeAnn Bjerken