Local gift and home accessories boutique For the People, located in the Union at Biltmore Fashion Park, has planned special monthly hands-on events to connect more personally with its customers. “The type of customers who come into my store want to be invested,” says Lew Gallo, co-owner of the store. Observing that independent, smaller merchants can’t rely solely on advertising, Gallo says, “We have to be more creative in the way we promote our business.”
The events will be held the first Friday-through-Sunday of the month. Gallo has planned them as a way of exposing people to the artwork in the store. April’s event, for instance, focuses on pottery, with a potter’s wheel demonstration on Sunday and several potters from all around North America attending on Friday night to talk about some of the attributes of their pottery. For June’s focus on the art of entertaining, Chef Aaron of the St. Francis restaurant in downtown Phoenix will share ideas on how to beautifully present the food — using home accessories available in the store. Other topics will be the Art of Travel (in May) and the Art of Functional Design (in July).
