Hat sationa!, whose latest home was at the Saratoga Race Course, is moving into the 1,200-square-foot space at 510 Broadway, recently vacated by Elizabeth’s Table. Hat company owner Joyce Locks is excited about this next location. 

“First, I ran the business out of my home; then when it took off, I moved it to the racetrack,” Locks said. “It grew and grew, and then I knew we needed to grow some roots. So I started the store.”

Locks’s hats are made by various companies, available in styles for men, women and children. She stocks every possible type of headgear, from fascinators to newsboys.

“There is something for everyone, at a wide variety of price points,” she said. “We have hats for $50 and hats for $500. If you know your price point, we’ll steer you in the right direction and help you complete your outfit.”

Her store will have one room just for one-of-a-kind hats, which Locks adorns herself to suit each client. She also sells various types of gloves and high-end costume jewelry. 

Renovating a restaurant into a boutique is challenging, she said, almost like starting a construction project from scratch.

“The landlord took out the food bar in the middle of the space, and we are doing everything else,” Locks explained. “We’re replacing the floor, for example.”

She hopes to open the new store around March 13, in time for Easter hats. She won’t sell online, however.

“I think customers need to try on hats, and you can’t do that online,” she said. “When people come into the shop, they will have a unique feeling looking at all the choices around them.”

--Jennie

After being on Franklin Square since the mid-1980s, Kitchen Dimensions is moving to the Algonquin Building at 512 Broadway. 

The company has two other showrooms in Clifton Park/Halfmoon and Queensbury. Kitchen Dimensions offers cabinetry lines from builder's stock to antique reproduction. The Saratoga showroom will display Wood-Mode; Brookhaven; Draper-DBS; and Kitchen Dimension Classic, the company’s locally crafted line.

“We are a full-service kitchen- and bath-oriented remodeling, design and supply company with emphasis on ‘Design Is the Difference,’” said owner Steve Jackoski. “We are also partners in our own counter-fabrication facility in the Town of Moreau. This is Cut Right Counters, which one of our former employees branched off and founded this past year. The partnership provides us a unique opportunity to be a one-stop shop for every kitchen and bath project, new or old.”

The company’s showrooms display quartz-based counters along with many different stones such as soapstone, marble and crystalline; exotic woods; and even recycled-paper counters. The Saratoga showroom will also feature some unique hardware lines to change the entire look of a project for relatively little expense.

Kitchen Dimensions’ designers work with up-to-date computer-aided design software and often still use hand-drawn renderings to capture the true spirit of the project, Jackoski said. 

Kitchen Dimensions and Cut Right Counters offer full installation and remodeling services that let the customer have one project manager specializing in kitchen and bath projects. The company does site visits to measure and offer any suggestions it can while onsite. Even the smallest project receives personal attention.

 “We think our smallest complete kitchen project is off Route 9N on Lake George in this great authentic cabin owned by a Glens Falls businessman and his wife,” Jackoski said. “It was a lot of fun to work on, and every square inch was planned and designed for maximum function. No project is too small--or probably ever going to be smaller than that kitchen, but you never know.”

The Kitchen Dimensions team is excited to locate its showroom in the Algonquin building on Broadway, he said.

“We were looking for that quintessential Saratoga location and believe we found it with this boutique concept we are developing,” he noted. “We expect more clients to simply walk in and browse our displays for ideas and design details.”

Satisfied customers are a constant goal for the company.

“There is nothing more gratifying than meeting customers years later while walking down Broadway and having them thank you again for their project,” Jackoski said.

Besides being proud of past projects, the owner has plans for the future.

“We are working toward becoming a complete one-stop shop, and if I have my way, we will soon have our own tile company added to our group,” he said. “Counters, cabinets, tile, remodeling services, all in one place. It’s a very exciting time for our team.”

The store’s opening is expected this May.


--Jennie

 

Reform Pilates will offer special programs and raise funds for charity on Thursday, March 14. At 6:30 p.m., former Olympic pairs skater and Disney motivational speaker Karen Courtland Kelly will present "The Energy Show!", which was originally created for Feld Entertainment’s “Disney on Ice” and presented to Disney's professional performers. During this learning experience, Kelly helps attendees become aware of their own patterns, and learn hidden dangers and secret weapons that can drain or maximize their energy. Cost for "The Energy Show!" workshop is $20.

From 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., she will teach a free master mat class, with donations collected for Shelters of Saratoga.  Small group and private Pilates sessions are also available with Kelly at different rates on the 14th and Friday the 15th.

"I’m very excited about this opportunity to benefit the greater good of society in beautiful Saratoga Springs," she said.

Kelly is a United States Olympian and Level 4 True Pilates Instructor who loves to promote skating and Pilates for sport, health and socializing. A professional performer, trained teacher, motivational speaker and spokesperson, she is passionate about academics and athletics, and has a love for creating characters for performance. One of her favorite presentations is "The Energy Show!” For more information about Kelly’s motivational speaking work, True Pilates training and skating accomplishments, go to www.peakedgeperformance.com.

Reform: A True Pilates Studio offers private and semiprivate instruction as well as small group classes in a studio equipped with state-of-the-art Gratz Apparatus. All instructors have been certified by Romana’s Pilates at True Pilates NY. The studio wants to keep the integrity of the Pilates method pure, as it was taught by Joseph Pilates and handed down to Romana Kryzanowska. The studio boutique offers Pilates and yoga workout apparel, including lucy and other high-quality name brands, and has a selection of Pilates books, DVDs and workout accessories.

The studio is at 18 Division St., Ste. 203. Call 871-1315 or go to www.reformyourbody.com.

--Jennie

 

Hattie’s Chicken Shack at 3057 Wilton Plaza, Rt. 50 is trying to crack the gluten-free fried chicken market. Chef Jasper Alexander has been working on a gluten-free fried chicken that will be available only at the Wilton location.

 “We have had a lot of requests for it,” he said. “I am trying different types of flour to come up with a recipe that stays true to Hattie’s original Fried Chicken. We have had a lot of support from our regular customers who have offered to be guinea pigs for the new recipe. I’m close, but not there just yet.”

The gluten-free fried chicken should be available in the spring.

Hattie's Restaurant has been a Saratoga Springs landmark since 1938, serving fine Southern and Louisiana cuisine including Hattie's famous Southern fried chicken, jambalaya, Jasper’s Mac and Cheese, and other daily specials. Hattie’s is also the winner of the Fried Chicken Throwdown with Bobby Flay as seen on the Food Network. Hattie’s chicken was recently named Best Fried Chicken in the USA by “Food and Wine.”

The charitable legacy of founder Hattie Grey continues today with owners and staff donating time, effort and food in order to raise money for several charities throughout the Capital Region. The restaurant’s annual Mardi Gras event has raised more than $250,000 for various not-for-profits in Saratoga County.

See www.hattiesrestaurant.com and www.hattieschickenshacks.com.

--Jennie

 

For its 2013 Book Share Service Project, Saratoga County Kids Care Club is collecting gently used books outgrown or no longer read. The club will donate them to the county’s low-income families in honor of author Dr. Seuss's birthday. According to the club, one of the biggest factors in a child’s academic success is access to books and frequent exposure to reading in the home environment. So books for various ages and reading levels are needed to reach the most children and address their personal interests. The club hopes to spread the love of reading to others, saying children will be cheered up and encouraged to read, especially if they can take a book home to keep.

Drop-off sites include Torres XTF Health and Fitness at 43 Round Lake Rd., Ballston Lake and Saratoga Regional YMCA at 290 West Ave. The book drive will end on Wednesday, Feb. 27.  

The goals for Saratoga County Kids Care Club Book Share Service Project are:

·        To raise awareness of the importance of childhood literacy

·        To encourage all children to enjoy reading and to read more by creating personal libraries

·        To foster childhood literacy by providing new and used books to children, and to schools and libraries that need them

Theodor Seuss Geisel, best known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, was born on March 2, 1904. His children's classics include “The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Fox in Socks.” 

--Jennie

 

Founder Diane Seguin, a 29-year veteran of the fitness industry, has opened NOA Fitness and Pilates Studio at 77 Van Dam St. The studio offers classes ranging from mat Pilates to yo-Pilates, which combines a mat class with power Ashtanga yoga. Seguin also holds workshops, such as partner yoga earlier this month.


Seguin says the moment she got up to teach a group class, she knew she had found her calling. She has earned certifications in: mat, apparatus, YMCA, step, aerobics, boxing, spinning, cardio ball and power yoga. She has specialized in boot camp, ballet boot camp, body toning and interval training.
Seguin has also won six group fitness competitions.

The founder has been in the area for only a little more than a year, but she said she has already adopted the city of Saratoga Springs as her own.

Visit http://noafitnessandpilatesstudio.com for more information.

--Jennie

 

Are you confused about which foods are good for you and which to avoid? Jacqueline Hauf, health and wellness engineer, will present a lecture on “10 Keys to Healthy Eating” Feb. 28 at Myrtle Street Obstetrics & Gynecology, 58 Myrtle St. from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Join Hauf and discover the best foods to eat for your optimum health. You'll also learn what to really look for on food labels; why the foods you are eating could be making you hungry; and how changing on common ingredient can help you lose weight, boost your energy and prevent disease.

  

This class is free and open to the public. Space is limited, so R.S.V.P. at info@jacquelinehauf.com. 

Hauf is a certified health coach and a creative recipe modifier/developer who believes that health and happiness can be changed one bite at a time. For 25 years, she was the owner of Synergy, an Aveda Salon & Day Spa. During these years of caring for others’ outward beauty needs, along with struggling most of her life with sugar addiction, digestive issues, food intolerances and yo-yo dieting, she was naturally drawn to health and wellness. She is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the largest nutrition school in the world, and is accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Hauf works with individuals who struggle with the same issues that she did. 

To learn more and make an appointment for a free “Getting to the Gut of It Discovery Session,” visit www.jacquelinehauf.com. Hauf is available by appointment at Myrtle Street Ob/Gyn, Malta Office, 2105 Ellsworth Blvd., Malta.

--Jennie

Fogg's Automotive in Glenville might just be the greenest auto shop around. The 57-year-old family business is celebrating its one-year anniversary of having solar panels create part of the facility’s electricity. These panels produced more than 58,000 kilowatt-hours in 2012, in effect reducing the facility’s carbon footprint by more than 82,000 pounds.

Run by John Fogg; his wife, Barbara; and his brother, Chuck, Fogg’s Automotive also utilizes used motor oil to heat the entire facility, eliminating its dependence on natural gas. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are used throughout the building, while timers and motion sensors automatically turn off lights not being used. The restroom fixtures are designed to eliminate or reduce water consumption.

“The Foggs are very environmentally conscious,” said Justin Roberts, their business development manager. “This second generation has an ongoing green list of projects that have been implemented over time.” 

Making the facility’s boiler more energy-friendly took several years, due to plumbing issues, Roberts said as he named some of the projects. Fogg’s Automotive uses water-based car paints and is looking into utilizing light-emitting diodes instead of the compact fluorescents.    

“We also have biodegradable automotive oil,” he said. “It’s vegetable-based. People can sometimes be skeptical, but it really does biodegrade. It’s used the same as regular oil, and it’s safe.”              

                                                                     

Established in 1955 in Scotia, Fogg’s Automotive provides customers with vehicle repair and maintenance, and is still family-owned and -operated. Since its establishment, Fogg’s Automotive has continued to grow, expanding its services to include: vehicle sales, 24-hour towing, full-service collision repair, parts and accessories, and Fleet sales and service. For more information, visit www.foggsauto.com.

--Jennie