Feb 17, 2009

About Town: Special moment in time for local antique shopBy Marti CovingtonBeaufortGazette.com

The array of colorfully patterned, quilted Vera Bradley handbags on the shelves at Heritage House Antiques and Gardens in Port Royal will get the star treatment this morning — along with store owner Marilyn Cooler and manager Carol Hunter.

Cooler, Hunter and their handbags, garment bags and wallets have an 8:30 a.m. call time for a Vera Bradley photo shoot that will take place at Heritage House, which moved in 2004 from downtown Beaufort to its spot on Paris Avenue.

The photos will be used in Vera Bradley’s national Fall 2009 catalog, print ads, retail signs and Web site. They will be released in September or October, said Monica Edwards, marketing creative director for Vera Bradley.

“We’ll have a print photographer and crew, makeup artist and stylists, along with Vera Bradley marketing team members” at the set-up for the photo shoot at the store, said Edwards. “Vera Bradley primarily uses family and friends as models, and that is true of our shoot in Port Royal.”

The company is taking photos in Port Royal, Savannah and Hilton Head over a seven-day period. “While we were here, we wanted to feature a local Vera Bradley retailer and fell in love with the charm of Heritage House,” Edwards said.

Having her face and her store featured in a catalog that will be distributed all over the country is a privilege, said Cooler, who added, “I’m honored they selected us. It’s a nice distinction for us to be selected from all the stores in the Beaufort area.”

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