e

Out &
About

Building

plummets

THE FREE FALL in new
‘ construction starts since the
‘beginning of the Skeena
' Cellulose crisis continued in
. August.

: Just $544,000 worth of

new building permits were

‘ issued by the City of Ter-

‘ pace that month.

' That’s down from $1.39

- million in July. And it’s

continued a steady decline

‘in new construction since

' May, when $4.98 million in

building = permits © ‘were
. issued,

August’s meagre construc-
tion starts consisted primari-
+ ly of three house starts,
: worth $361,000.

The same month in 1996

had seen $2.7 million worth

- of construction activity
‘started,

- Total construction in 1997

: had started on a good pace

early in the year aud looked

* dikely to surpass the record

‘. of $25.8 million set in 1996,

‘All that changed this sum-

mer, however, and wilh total
permits issued now at just
$17.9 million, it’s looking
like the slowest construction
year in three years.

Alt the same point in 1996,
permits issued were at $21.5
million, and in 1995 the
> mumber was $19.8 million
to the end of August.

Gardens

closing

THE STOCK OF North-
ern Light Studio is up for
sale, but not the building.

: Northen Light is owned
: by Kaye and Matt Ehses,
The store sells jewellery,
native art, pottery and gifts.

The Ehses are retiring, but

they’re not willing to give
up the building and garden,
at 4820 Halliwell. For many
years now the Japanese:
Style garden behind the store
has been a tourist attraction.
Most recent improvements
include a jade walkway.
: The couple ran the garden
as a public service, and
didn’t charge an cniry fee.
Now that they’re retiring the
garden will close to the pub-
lic,

" 86> ~—s McRae
appointed

CITY FREEMAN Bill
McRae is serving as the
first-ever Terrace director
> on the board of Prince
-  Rupert-based Northem

Fee ee ee ee ae ae

: Savings Credit Union.

3 - The appointment, for a
‘, one-year term, fulfills the
+? credit union's promise to get

Terrace representatives on

its board,

RON AND TRISH Gardner, owners of f Ebony’s Hid-
den Treasures, says sex toys are the store's biggest
sellers, Lotians and creams are also popular.

ph du [-

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A10 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 17, 1997

BUSINESS REVIEW

Sex sells, store owners find

By CRIS LEYKAUF.
THERE’S NO down time for sex.

Business is good ycar round, says
Ren Gardner, owner of Ebony’s
Hidden Treasures, ~

“Ours is one of. the few
businesses that’s never been i in the
red,” he says.

The store basn’t even been open a
year, but it’s already the largest
marital aid shop in northern B.C,

Ebony’s mail order: business is
growing rapidly aud a newly -ex-
panded presence on the Internet
gives the store even more potential,
says Garditer.

He and his wife Trish, the store's
manager, opened. Ebony’s at its
Kalum St. location on November |
last year. ,

The store was an idea Gardner
bad a number of years ago when he
realized, even in Terrace, everyone
knew the name of the marital aid
shop in Prince George.

He thought it might be compli-
cated to get the necessary approvals

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to_ open ke is, after all, a sex
store, but he went through the red
tape without any problems.

It takes just four $85 licences to
nin the store —— mail order, retail
and video licences, plus an adult
video licence from the province.

Gardtier was even. more worried
about protests -— he wasn’t sure if
he could find a location that was
discrect, and slighily. out of the
way, And he didn’t know how
people would react.

But only a handful of people have
lodged objections so far. The most
public, a letter in the Terrace Star-
dard last. February, expressed a
hope that the store would soon shut
down for lack of business.

“That brought us a tremendous
amount of business,’’ said Trish.
“We had people coming in here
saying, ‘we'll visit your store just
to make sure you don’t go out of
business.’ ’’

The store’s customers are diverse,
ranging from 17-year-olds to

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seniors in the their 80s. It’s an even
split between men and women.
City bylaws prevent anyone un-
der the age of 17 from coming into
the store, but the couple want thal

minimum raised to .18, in line with’

the minimum age to buy some of
the magazines and vidcos there.
And even with a minimum of 17,
some teens use fake ID to get in.

As for what's most popular, sex
toys are by far the hottest items,
comprising about 75 per cent of
relail sales, and up to 85 per cent of
mail orders; says’ Gardner. ‘Videos
are also popular, as are the Kama
Sutra line of skin products and gag
gifts for weddings and stags.

The Gardners have tried to design
the store so. people are gradually
eased into the more graphic scec-
tions. For example, lingerie, creams
and bath lotions are up front, with
more shocking items in the back,
and the videos in the far room.

‘People will look both ways ta
make sure nobody secs them,’’ says

Trish “Then they walk in and all

‘their friends and neighbours are in

herc.””

That's one of the reasons why the
mail order side’ of the business ‘is
growing. Some people with high-
profile or ‘sensitive jobs, such as
teachers, don’t want to risk being
seen in Ebony’s.

After nearly a year in business,
not much surprises the proprictors.

**¥ou have to-talk pretly openly
to people about sex — about what

they’re missing in their lives,’’ says
“Gardner, ; ms

“You're talking ‘about some
pretty intimate things,’’ adds Trish.
“Customers have told them secrets
they haven’t even told their spouse.

Others lack knowledge about key
medical facts, and she and Ron will
advise them to consult a doctor.
But a non-judgmental, supportive
attitude is the most important thing
they offer customers,

“People are so human,’’ says
Gardner.

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