Jun 27, 2007

Local ‘themestress’ has everybody’s perfect giftBy Stephen KnappCanyonCourier.com

As a rule, the more personal a gift is, the better it will be received. Attaining the proper blend of familiarity, form and function, however, can be tricky.

A beautiful silk bustier, for example, may convey one’s deepest regard, but may also inspire misapprehension in the mind of a co-worker or bowling chum. Something handmade, on the other hand, like a macaroni necklace or beer-can lawn ornament, is thoughtful and less prone to misinterpretation, but often of inferior execution and questionable utility. Solution? Rebecca Nicks, themestress.

“A friend started calling me that,” laughs Nicks, who, with her husband, Ron, owns Silver Platters, a hot music and cool gift store in the Bergen Village Shopping Center. “I’m really more of a packrat who found something good to do with all the crap I collect.”

She’s being modest, of course. What Nicks does is use native talent and imagination to turn simple trinkets, curiosities and bric-a-brac into attractive, functional and wonderfully personal gifts. The heart of her cottage industry is nothing more or less than the commonplace, unassuming paint can.

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