Published: March 18, 2008 12:46 pm      

MEDINA: Previewing Medina's new present

The downtown Medina storefront at 410 Main St. will no longer be empty as of March 27.

That’s the day Medina resident Ken Jones will be opening The Home & Gift Emporium, offering an eclectic assortment of decorative indoor and outdoor items for every taste — after all, there are more than 3,300 items that will be carried in the store, online and in a catalogue.

Look for ornamental birdhouses, solar wind chimes, small cabinets, cutlery, dishes, water fountains, wall sconces and crystal figurines, Jones said. Additional items will include end tables, stepping stones, garden flags, hammocks, lawn chairs and wooden swings.

“Everything we carry is of good quality. I wouldn’t sell something I wouldn’t buy myself,” Jones said. “A lot of the items we’re carrying you won’t find anywhere else in the county.”

Born and raised in Albion, Jones has run J & M Plastic Designs out of his home for the past eight years, he said. It all started with his patented design of what he describes as a “hot air balloon wind chime made out of plastic candles.”

For the past four years, Jones has been busy earning a master’s degree in business and finance and a master’s degree in ministry.

When Jones stumbled upon The World of Products, the vendor that will be supplying the products for his store, he thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use his business degree, he said. He considered renting the Medina storefront owned by the operators of Avanti’s for six months before finally deciding to “go with it,” he said.

Jones and his family and friends have been busy readying the store for the first shipment of arrivals sometime this week. The brown walls received a fresh coat of white paint and several shelving units were set up over the weekend. The black and white front sign advertising The Home & Gift Emporium is expected to go up Wednesday, Jones said.

“I’m excited and I’m a little nervous,” said Medina resident Mary Wasnock, who will be helping out in the store. “I’m hoping it takes hold.”

The store’s Web site — www.thehomeandgiftemporium.com — should be up and running by the beginning of April, Jones said. Customers who make a purchase in the store during the grand opening March 27 will receive a $10 gift card to use at the Web site.

Anyone who doesn’t find what they’re looking for in the store can always sit down and order from the catalogue, Jones said.

“I’m sure if you stop in here, you’ll find something that will fit wherever you live,” Jones said.

If the business does as well as his friend’s in Colorado, where the store is making more than $300,000 in profit per year, Jones may eventually open a second location in the Walden Galleria Mall, he said.

Store hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.