Norwich: Helikon Remnants Prime Stock For New Furniture Store In Mill
May 26th, 2007 Category Furniture, Furniture StoreThe last remnants of furniture from the former Helikon Furniture Co. didn’t travel far before finding themselves in a new furniture showroom soon to be available for purchase by the general public.
Just as the marquee furniture maker was shutting down in the historic Ponemah Mill No. 1 building in Taftville, the owners of Ponemah Mill No. 2 were preparing to open a new retail furniture showroom and factory outlet store.
“The timing was perfect,†said Robin Owens, sales manager for the Amazing Furniture & Mattress Factory Outlet that celebrated a grand opening Thursday at 599 Norwich Ave. in Taftville.
The main furniture showroom, featuring full lines of household furniture and bedding, is located in the historic mill complex management office building in front of the mill. The setting is ideal, Owens said, as the ornate two-story building is divided into large office rooms easily set up as bedrooms or living rooms.
About a dozen kitchen tables and kitchenette sets adorn the building’s kitchen. Dining room sets fill the adjacent larger room. Smaller offices show how a small apartment living room or tight bedroom could be furnished. There’s an ottoman that opens into a spare bed in one room.
The women of the store did the decorating. Saleswoman Barbara Lowden and Manager Debbie Niedzwicki set up the rooms and purchased wall hangings and other accessories to dress them up. Lowden, an interior decorator, can offer ideas to customers along those lines.
The old huge brick-lined vault houses children’s bunk-bed sets. The vault door remains intact, although permanently in the open position.
“We wanted to have something fun for the kids,†he said.
The building is connected to the main Mill No. 2 through a rustic wooden walkway that leads to the unaltered expansive mill floor, where thousands of workers once turned out some of the finest cotton broadcloth in the world. This will be the store’s main warehouse and the location for future weekend “scratch-and-dent†sales.
Still wrapped in protective foam and cardboard, dozens of mahogany veneer desks and filing cabinets, office and conference room chairs and upholstered chairs sit in the warehouse. Amazing Furniture bought them at the Helikon contents auction in late April, and Owens looks forward to offering them to local buyers who know the Helikon name and its quality.
Amazing Furniture also bought boxes of furniture hardware, including hinges and knobs and screws and bolts from Helikon. Owens said the company plans to purchase lots of returned or damaged furniture from various suppliers, repair them and offer them at the mill sales.
Warehouse sales are still several weeks away, but the main store opened for business Thursday. The store will be open seven days a week for the first two grand opening weeks, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday through Wednesday.
Afterwards, the store will be open Thursday through Monday, and closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Information from: www.theday.com
