We got a tip about a new housewares store, the Openhouse, which opened at 5807 Patterson Ave., near the Patterson and Libbie intersection.

Openhouse sells handmade home goods (bedding, dinnerware, ceramics, kitchen textiles, decorative items) by independent product designers. No mass-manufacturing and mainly environmentally friendly designs. Lots of goods for the modern home including some baby items and the occasional stationary good as well.

Check out their blog/website at www.openhouse-richmond.com and/or send them an email at openhouse.richmond@gmail[dot]com.

Definitely looks like a wonderful store worth checking out!

The Tabitha Geary Store will open at 506 Libbie Ave., between Grove and Patterson avenues. At first glance, I wasn’t sure what kind of store this was until I thought, maybe, it was a fashion store. I was wrong:

Her growing business takes photos, letters, artwork, slides, cards, and kids’ school work and scans them into a computer. Then those mementos can be preserved on a CD and/or organized into custom scrapbooks, collages and DVDs…

…Geary started her business in 2005 as O.K. Picture This. She changed the name a few months ago after receiving guidance and infusion of a “significant amount” of capital from a handful of local investors. [via]

Hope her store does well, although, the name change might make more than a few potential customers wonder, vaguely, what her store is.