Tinman Too opens, sells more kids' books
The Tinman Gallery is moving its children's book inventory to a new location next door, at 811 W. Garland. The new store, called Tinman Too, will occupy space previously used by the Ruby Slipper, which has closed.

Sue Bradley, who owns the Tinman Gallery and owned the Ruby Slipper, says the children's book section in the Tinman was the largest growing portion of her business. The Ruby Slipper, which sold handmade women's shoes from Europe and Brazil, closed because the price of importing shoes rose too high and made the shoes too expensive for her customers, Bradley says.

"We wanted more space for kids' books and a space for workshops and art projects because the kids business is growing and we have had more demand," she says.

Bradley was the president of the Spokane Art School before it closed its doors in May 2008 and says she and a group of former teachers there have been trying to re-establish a location for art classes in the community.

"The mission of the Tinman is to provide a creative experience in literature and art in the community, and the Tinman Too is going to be doing that for children," she says.

The space Tinman Too will occupy has 750 square feet of floor area, and will continue to have a separate entrance from the main gallery, Bradley says.

Bradley says she has three full-time employees and one part-time employee and doesn't plan to hire more workers at this time. The Tinman Too will open for business on July 6.

Olive Oil Company in Cd'A changes hands
Joslyn Cox, of Spokane, has bought the Coeur d'Alene Olive Oil Co., at 117 S. Fourth, in Coeur d'Alene, from the business's previous owner and founder, Sandra Gunn.

Cox says she was looking for a change in her career when she decided to buy the business in March. She previously worked in banking in the Spokane area for 13 years, she says.

Coeur d'Alene Olive Oil Co. sells olive oil, olives, vinegar, and tapenade, an olive and vegetable-based spread. All of the products are bottled at the business, but the olives are grown and pressed in California, she says.

"I think there is a real quality product, and it was nice to have something that was already established and had some name recognition in the market," she says.

Cox says she hasn't made any changes to the business yet, because customers love the products.

The business has done better in sales this year than it did last year, Cox says, but she hopes the summer weather will bring more tourists in.

The business occupies about 400 square feet and employs three people.

Spokane Elite Dance opens Valley studio
Maggie Cahalan-Kazemba, director of the Spokane Shock Dance Team and a full-time designer of buildings at NAC Architecture Inc., has opened Spokane Elite Dance Studio, at 10623 E. Sprague, in Spokane Valley.

The studio offers dance classes for children age 4 and up, as well as adults. Classes will include jazz, tap, and hip-hop, as well as cheerleading camps over the summer.

Cahalan-Kazemba says she has been dancing since she was 3 years old, and has been teaching dance in the Spokane area for 10 years.

She says one of the reasons she opened a dance studio was to give the Spokane Shock Dance Team a space to practice to make them better dancers, and to give herself the opportunity to teach other age groups and dancers.

One of the studio's instructors is an active member of the Spokane Shock Dance Team and another was a former Sea Gal dancer for the Seattle Seahawks, Cahalan-Kazemba says.

One of the studio's main focuses is to train young girls hoping to join their high-school dance teams, and later on, college or professional dance teams, she says.

The studio also offers a yoga class and hopes to add Pilates soon, says Cahalan-Kazemba. She says she hopes to teach ballet there in the future.

The dance studio has about 1,200 square feet and employs six people.

Weight consultants open business here
Linda Lourey, of Spokane, has opened a weight-management and consulting firm here at 9505 N. Division, named Ideal Health Strategies.

Lourey co-owns the business with Shelley Leaming, a registered nurse, and Jennifer Gallis, an acupuncturist.

Lourey says she became interested in weight-loss coaching because her husband experienced health issues that affected his weight in the past, and she decided to help others with the knowledge she gained during the experience.

Ideal Health Strategies provides coaching throughout a client's weight-loss process, which includes nutritional counseling and an emphasis on healthy eating habits, Lourey says. She also sells diet food under the brand Ideal Protein.

One feature of the program that Lourey requires of all her clients is a mandatory "splurge day" once a week, when clients are told to eat anything and everything they want.

Lourey says she encourages clients to eat other food along with the Ideal Protein diet products as they learn to eat more healthily to maintain a desired weight.

Spokane gymnastics facility gets new owner
Spokane Elite Gymnastics, which offers gymnastics classes and coaching, will change hands and be renamed Spokane Gymnastics today, July 1.

Nadine Burgess has bought the gymnastics facility, at 5615 E. Broadway, from John Sweeney, of Seattle, who has owned the gym for the last 10 years. Sweeny, who also is president of Seattle Gymnastics Academy Inc., left the Spokane program to focus on expanding his gymnastics programs there, Burgess says.

"The business is going excellent and with the former owner's focus elsewhere, it made sense to get local involvement," Burgess says.

She says she wanted to eliminate the word 'elite' from the gym's name to reflect the philosophy of the gymnastics program there better, since its students aren't always elite gymnasts, but rather have a range of skill levels.

All of the gym's coaches will stay following the purchase, and classes and prices also will remain the same, she says.

One new "pre-team" program also will be added, which will offer coaching to young gymnasts hoping to join a competitive team, she says.

Burgess says she has been coaching gymnastics for 10 years and has been at Spokane Elite Gymnastics for the last three and a half years.

During the transition, all of the business's gymnastics equipment will be replaced, she says.

The gymnastics program occupies 7,000 square feet and employs 10 people.