Let's Go Boutiquing

Monrovia isn't just a great place to eat. It's also a great place to shop, especially if you prefer independent boutiques over packed malls.

Scattered throughout Monrovia are a number of boutiques, including one that received regional attention a few months back when it was featured in the Los Angeles Times. Suo, located at 601 W. Huntington, has been in the City since 1999, and features a variety of affordable and fashionable clothes, jewelry and accessories.

Suo is located at 601 W. Huntington, and is one of two locations in So. Cal.

A cluster of boutiques can also be found up and down Old Town. These include Allure at 417 S. Myrtle, L & G Fashion Boutique at 302 S. Myrtle, and Jenni B. at 106 E. Lime.

Photo from alluremonrovia.com

So what are you waiting for? It's Friday...time to go shopping!

Business Tip: Tap into $1 Billion in Government Contracts

Two of our local water agencies - one of which is headquartered in Monrovia - is hosting an event that teaches businesses how to be awarded governmental contracts.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District are reaching out to the public with a presentation on how you can use social media to better promote your business, in addition to tips on how to obtain these governmental contracts.

This free event will be held from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on February 24 at the Double Tree in Monrovia. Check out the flyer below for more information...

Mt. Sierra Students Step Up to Global Game Jam

Photo by Alexis Newell

Here is an inside look at Mt. Sierra College at 101 E. Huntington Drive in Monrovia.

Monrovia's Mt. Sierra College - an information technology and media arts and design school of nearly 600 students - hit the headlines recently when it became one of only three Southern California schools to compete in a global gaming competition.

In late January, Mt. Sierra College was featured on CBS2 when it was among just 247 locations around the world that participated in the "Global Game Jam." This 48-hour competition challenged students to create a board or video game using the image of a snake eating its tail as inspiration.

What we learn is not just that this type of activity takes a lot of energy drinks, but that these students are extremely creative. Here's the video.

Mount Sierra College Students Take Up Challenge To Create New Games « CBS Los Angeles

Photo by Alexis Newell

Mt. Sierra College first started in Pasadena before it relocated to Monrovia.

Job Fair for Coffee Bean on Tuesday

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at 702 Huntington Drive in Monrovia had this poster (below) advertised on its window. They are hosting a job fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow in Burbank at 340 N. San Fernando Blvd. in search of general managers.

Relationships for Better Wants to "Help Couples Thrive"

Megan Lundgren, top left, has a love for Monrovia and a passion for couples therapy. That's why this Monrovia resident - and MAP leader - started her practice at 140 E. Colorado Avenue, Suite D, back in October.

"Relationships for Better" provides relationship and marriage counseling (including pre-marital, separation, and divorce therapy) from a "home-like environment."

According to her online bio, Megan graduated from Fuller Seminary with a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. She attended Seattle Pacific University, where she earned Bachelor of Arts in both Psychology and Educational Ministry.

Relationships for Better can be reached at (626) 272-4908, or by emailing megan@relationshipsforbetter.com.

Business Round-Up: Optical Center, Antique Store and More...

New businesses continue to crop up around Monrovia. Here's the latest:

 

This picture was found on the website Children's Hospital

Los Angeles Optical, located at 509 S. Myrtle Avenue.

Children's Hospital Los Angeles Optical: This eye-care center provides services to people from ages 21 and under. It is located at 509 S. Myrtle Avenue, formerly located by Monrovia Beauty Supply. Store hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Phone number is (626) 303-2030.

 

Antiques Off Fair Oaks: This store opened nearly two months ago in a 15,000 square foot space at Walnut and Ivy, 137 W. Walnut. The antique store, which relocated from Pasadena, features items from 12 different dealers, and is a popular space among many Westside decorators. Look for their Business Profile next week.

Sherwin Williams: This paint store at 503 W. Huntington opened last month, and will be celebrating its official grand opening with the Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting ceremony in March.

Salon Cheo: This hair coloring and cutting salon officially opened on Jan. 11 at 147 E. Foothill Blvd. Business phone is (626) 359-1272. 



#1 General Merchandise and Gift Shop: This stationary and household item store opened on 346 W. Foothill Boulevard in the fall. Their business phone number is (626) 301-0504, and hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

  

Is there a new business is your neighborhood? Shoot an email to jmclain@ci.monrovia.ca.us.

Business Profile: Pages from the Heart



Kathy Kniep, owner, started Pages from the Heart in 1999.

She and co-owner MaryJo Lawson moved the store a year

ago to its current location at 137 E. Colorado Avenue.

Step into Pages from the Heart, and it won't take long before you are sucked in to the papercrafting world.

It's in part due to how darn cute everything is. Like the Celebrate Spring little photo album they have on display. Or the rows and rows of colorful paper, festive stickers, and small cut outs for Valentine's Day and Easter.

It's also in part due to the simple fact that these "papercrafters" - which is a term that includes scrapbooking, invitation making and about anything else you can make with paper - seem to have a vocabulary of their own.

On Friday afternoon, owner Kathy Kniep dropped terms like "scraplifting" - it's when other scrapbookers exchange (or sometimes steal) scrapbooking ideas from one another - or "Pages Peeps," which is the affectionate name given to the regulars at this longtime scrapbooking store.

For Kniep, this store is a testament to her more than decades-old love affair with the hobby.

Pages from the Heart was started by Kniep 12 years ago at the Aztec Hotel along Foothill Boulevard. But a year ago last week, Kniep moved her longtime business to a new location in Old Town, at 137 E. Colorado Boulevard, next to The Peach Cafe. It was then she also began a new partnership with co-owner, MaryJo Lawson. Their store - located in a beautiful building that features exposed wooden beams and brick - is filled with materials to complete scrapbooks, invitations and cards. And even though it's just a mile away from Scrap-N-Yap, another papercrafting store, there is plenty of business to keep Pages from the Heart beating. 

Kniep likens papercrafting and those who participate in it to the "old quilting bees," she said. 

 "It's a very cathartic activity," said Kniep as a calming scent from a candle wafted through the store. At a time when people are so glued to their smart phones, iPads and laptops, Kniep said that it's gratifying to have a hobby that allows you to actually glue things together. "It's nice to set time aside just to relax and do something creative."

Pages from the Heart offers classes - such as the Celebrate Spring class that will teach you to make that cute little photo album shown above. That class is from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on March 10 for $28. There are also "crops" - where for $15, participants can drop in, bring a project they've been working on, chat with fellow "peeps," use their tools, get access to their material, and, if necessary, "scraplift."

To learn more about Pages from the Heart, call them at (626)358-5334, or visit them on their blog at pagesfromtheheart.blogspot.com