Laurens Street boutique Women's Echoes is scheduled to close its doors for good on Oct. 1, but the shop's owners and staff plan to take the business out on a high note.
Women's Echoes will host a "Celebrating the Journey" champagne reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the store, 137 Laurens St. S.W., on the corner of Laurens and Hayne Avenue.
The shop's staff has partnered with Just Breathe Studio, Masha Archer Jewelry and stylist/consultant Quincy Forrester to stage the event, which will raise funds for Women Beyond Cancer.
"We just want to go out in the same way we began, with joy and celebration," said Vivien Bunce, who opened Women's Echoes in 2006 in partnership with Deborah Brooks, Tina McCarthy and Shelly Marshall Schmidt. "There are some opportunities we're looking at for the Women's Echoes brand. We have a following, and we'll announce via e-mail to our client mailing list what our new adventure is once it's set."
Saturday's reception will include a trunk show of Masha Archer jewelry designs and an exhibit of poster-sized portraits of cancer survivors affiliated with Women Beyond Cancer. The portraits will be for sale, with proceeds going to the charity, as will the proceeds of two raffled prizes: a six-month Just Breathe Studio membership and a Masha Archer necklace.
All Women's Echoes store merchandise will be 20 percent off during Celebrating the Journey, and a portion of those sales will go to benefit Women Beyond Cancer.
Women's Echoes will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 1. For more information about the Celebrating the Journey event, call the shop at 644-1093.
"I've got to recognize our incredible staff, Kim Herrick, Jenny Courtenay, Kathy Jones and Abby Zipfel. They have given their hearts and souls to Women's Echoes, and my partners are three of the most dynamic, gifted, generous women I've ever known," Bunce said.
"What's so remarkable about the past three years is the connections we've made with the people here, who have touched our lives and had their lives touched by our store. We've found a tremendous amount of goodwill and good spirits over these past three years," she said.
Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com. To see more of the Aiken Standard or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.aikenstandard.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Aiken Standard, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, Aiken Standard, S.C.