Feb 2, 2010

GreenSpace: Trio of businesses finds one homeBy Dawn SchuettPostBulletin.com

By combining her three downtown Rochester businesses in one location, Renee Kolle is aiming to bring greater visibility to the handmade goods, high-quality wigs and skin care products that she sells.

Her expanded shop opened Monday in the lobby of the Kahler Grand Hotel, where she’s had a franchise for Merle Norman Cosmetics for more than five years. She relocated her other businesses, Les Wigs Renee and Revelation and Gifts, from the mezzanine level to the former Sphinx Gift Shop on the street level to connect it with the Merle Norman studio.

The businesses have more to do with being of service to customers, some of whom are patients at Mayo Clinic going through chemotherapy, and less to do with the bottom line, Kolle said.

“It’s really about a ministry and encouraging people,” said Kolle, who talks about how faith in God has influenced her decisions. “If we can make someone look better and feel better, then we’ve succeeded.”

Customers of Merle Norman Cosmetics are treated to complimentary facials and makeovers so they can try products before buying them. The company only uses ingredients in its lines of skin care and beauty products that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Through her Merle Norman studio, Kolle said she met chemotherapy patients upset about their wigs not fitting properly. Kolle, who has worn wigs for about 10 years for convenience and fashion, launched Les Wigs Renee about a year and a half ago to meet the needs she saw in the community.

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