Harrington’s Camera, which has occupied its space at 15248 Sunset since 1958, will close at the end of the month, according to owner Phil Steblay, who acquired the store in January. Taking over the lease will be Sara Stein, a Highlands resident and businesswoman who plans to open a women’s boutique in early October. Dave Licht, who purchased the building which houses Harrington’s, Designers Rug Resource and his own Kay ‘N’ Dave’s Cantina last September, confirmed this week that Stebly would be vacating his space when the lease expires August 31. ‘It’s a matter of economics,’ Steblay told the Palisadian-Post. ‘The rents in our building have been going up dramatically, and along with increased taxes it’s almost doubled our rent. We couldn’t justify paying that amount for a service business that doesn’t have large profit margins.’ Despite this, Steblay is hoping Harrington’s can remain in business in the Palisades. He is currently considering two other options in the village, including sharing a space with another compatible business. ‘Our main intention is to maintain a location in the Palisades,’ said Steblay, who also owns Boulevard Camera on Wilshire in Santa Monica. ‘We love the clientele here and we feel that there is a continuing need for our kind of service; it’s not the mass-market kind of thing that you’d get at a chain store. ‘I’m hoping in the next couple of days that we’ll be able to let everybody know where we’re going,’ Steblay added. ‘We’re really working hard towards opening a new store here.’ Meanwhile, Stein said she will begin renovating her space in September. Named Sara Jo, after Stein’s first and middle names, the store will carry women’s accessories, including handbags, jewelry, and ‘other peripherals like belts and wallets.’ Stein, who is unmarried, has a finance degree from New York University and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She grew up in Ohio, graduated from high school in three years, and enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. ‘I didn’t like it in Ohio,’ she explained. ‘I was anxious to get out. But my parents wouldn’t let me go to New York or California, so I went to Austin and transferred to NYU.’ Stein moved out to California in 1989 to attend business school at USC and has been here ever since, pursuing careers in finance and entrepreneurship. Among her ventures, she started three consulting businesses and worked for two years in San Francisco during the dot.com boom. ‘I came back [to Southern California] because I missed L.A.,’ she said. ‘I also needed to have spinal fusion surgery, and I knew the medical community here better, too. ‘Following the surgery, I came to the revelation that I really needed to do something meaningful with my life. I was tired of sitting at a computer all day; I felt like it was time to try something new. Dealing with all of these things’inventories, contractors’is a lot of fun for me.’ Although Stein came up with numerous names for the store, including Rishi, after her golden retriever (named for Rajarishi, a royal saint in Hindu mythology), she said people found them difficult to remember. ‘I actually got talked into naming the store after myself. The more I talked to people about it, the more they seemed to like it. They thought it made it more personal to have my name on it. ‘Finally I decided, ‘Okay, it’s not too vain to name a store after myself.” Stein started doing her research early this year, ‘talking to other people in retail and also to leasing agents about spaces and what kind of stores they were looking for. I wanted to make sure my store would be a good fit for the neighborhood, and I think the Palisades is the best place for me. Everything came together here.’ After looking at various locations on Montana Avenue and in Malibu, Stein ultimately decided against them because ‘they were moving too much away from small boutiques and more towards couture: Chanel and other corporate names.’ She said she wants her store to be upscale, but also accessible. ‘Our jewelry will retail for between $40 and $50 up to several hundred,’ she said. ‘Handbags will go for a few hundred dollars up to around a thousand, depending on designer and piece. We will definitely cater towards a high-end clientele, but I want to make sure that everybody can afford something.’ Stein said she has already ordered items from designers including Monica Botkier, Sonia Rykiel and Leonello Borghi. She also has tentative plans to add shoes and clothing to the store next year, but for the time being it will remain accessories only. While Stein herself is new to the retail business, she hopes that her background in finance and entrepreneurship will help her succeed. She is also being advised by Lori Rose, owner of Highlights Lighting in Santa Monica. As for how she got the space, she says it was pure luck. ‘I had already talked to a few agents in the Palisades, and I called Dave Licht [her next-door neighbor in the Highlands] to get his opinion about what was going on in town. I honestly had no idea that he had a space opening up. When I asked him, though, he said, ‘Well, I have a place coming up soon.’ ‘It worked out perfectly because it’s not too big a space [about 900 square feet], so there’s not a huge start-up cost. It’s a good way to get my foot into the neighborhood. ‘It’s so much fun and so exciting’it’s hard to describe.’
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