New marketplace set for McColl Fine Art

East Boulevard will be getting a new home market featuring up to 70 vendors, as the McColl Fine Art Gallery relocates to a new store off of Providence Road.

Similar in concept to Cotswold Marketplace or Sleepy Poet Antique Mall, the new store will be called Alexander Scott. Owners Russel Griffith and David Newcombe signed a lease for the building at 208 East Boulevard this week and hope to open by late August or early September.

"A lot of people are afraid of opening businesses right now," said Griffith. But the economic situation "was really more of a catalyst," Griffith said. People are ready to start buying top-quality goods again, he believes, and he hopes to attract them to Alexander Scott.

Griffith and Newcombe are now gearing up to recruit at least 60 vendors for the 7,500-square-foot space. They're going for a "mid-range to higher-end" assortment, but Griffith said he wants to have enough of a selection to make sure the average consumer can find something in their price range.

"The one thing I don't want is for people to walk in and walk out saying, 'That stuff is so expensive!'" Griffith said.

The duo has sold their own vintage and modern home goods at spaces in Sleepy Poet mall and Cotswold Marketplace. They've been in that business for about nine years, and have developed the connections with vendors they hope will help them find good sellers.

"It's a really tight-knit community," Griffith said. "Everyone knows everyone."

The mix they're going for, Griffith said, is eclectic. When listing the kinds of vendors he's looking for, Griffith lists almost everything - "masculine, feminine, mid-century modern, antique and new."

He said they're funding the new store themselves. "We're doing this on our own, with our own money, money that we saved," he said. "We're putting everything into this."

The McColl Fine Art gallery which has been on East Boulevard will be relocated to a smaller space at 128 Cottage Place, near Providence and Queens Roads. They haven't set an opening date yet.

Griffith said the store will also host regular events to benefit local causes, such as the Humane Society and Loaves and Fishes.

Said Griffith: "I really want this to be a space where people can come and have a great time."