New Store to Offer Home, Personal Design Help

Designer Presence will open on October 24 across from the Kilkenny House Restaurant and Pub on South Avenue.

The store will offer home furnishings and personal accessories for affordable prices, as well as design consultation, and personal shopping and gift registry services.

Owner Gale Dolan has already started working on the store. So far her progress, however, remains hidden behind brown paper and a large sign announcing the story's debut date.

“I’m heading out for the electrical inspection this morning and a third of the store still needs flooring,” she said in mid-October. “We’ll start putting in products probably this weekend.”

The store will feature original paintings by accomplished artist Carmela Resnick and original black and white photographs by John Dolan Jr., Gale’s stepson and graduate of Boston Art Institute.

Resnick also offers a green product line of cleaning products that are 100 percent odor, color and additive free. These products will be available to order.

When asked what will set the set Designer Presence apart from other home furnishing stores and chains, like Bed Bath and Beyond, Dolan explained that it’s all in the presentation.

“We will present things in a very coordinated presentation,” she said. “The hand bag will be associated with the sunglasses, the watch. You can still buy separate pieces, though. Same goes for home furnishing. It helps those people who need to see it, since some of us are left-brained.”

Dolan believes that customer service will keep shoppers coming back.

“We will assist them in any way that we can, that’s our main goal,” she sais. “It’s why we have personal shopping, design consultation, and more. For those who just want to come in and look we won’t bother you. If you request assistance, we have two people with BAs in interior design, I have a MA in counseling. We feel we can help you express your style.”