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CELEBRATE IN STYLE

Bay Ridge store brings a lot to the table for brides and grooms

By Lisa J. Curtis
GO Brooklyn Editor
The Brooklyn Papers / Tom Callan
Fina china: The new Michael C. Fina store in Bay Ridge carries jewelry, carved frames, silver-plated candle holders and a wide variety of china patterns, stemware, sterling silver and stainless steel cutlery. (At left) Michael C. Fina's own "Impero Novo" flatware.

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Just in time for spring re-decorating, a Michael C. Fina boutique has opened in Bay Ridge. The new store, which is the offspring of the 70-year-old retailer on Fifth Avenue and 45th Street in Manhattan, offers an array of seasonal home decor accents - from an exquisite flower-bedecked picture frame to a silver-plated watering can holding a clove-scented candle.

But the store is best known as a mecca for brides and grooms.

"What’s important for us is to be able to explain to the couple that Michael C. Fina can be your resource for everything about the wedding," store Vice President Jeffrey Fina told GO Brooklyn. "From the beginning - from the engagement ring to bridal registry (china, crystal and silverware) to gifts for groomsmen and bridesmaids - to the end: wedding bands. All the parts of the wedding lifecycle are of equal importance to us."

The company was founded by Jeffrey’s grandparents Rose and Michael C. Fina in 1935, and now he operates the company with his brothers Steven and Michael.

The Manhattan store has already earned a reputation as the go-to place for wedding registries and for bridegrooms looking for engagement rings of exceptional craftsmanship at a competitive price.

Currently, Michael C. Fina is awarding a free, seven-day Caribbean cruise to each customer who buys an engagement ring costing $5,000 or more, according to Jeffrey. Although the airfare and port taxes are not included, it’s a memorable wedding gift for the engaged couple.

"We’re all about the celebration," Steven Fina told GO Brooklyn. "From our research, we know this is the most meaningful purchase anyone will ever make and we want to celebrate with them. So go on a cruise and have a good time!"

The 1,800-square-foot Bay Ridge location at 8211 Fifth Ave. was designed by Lydia Yoslow Designs and Consolidated Design Studio. The new retail space, located directly across Fifth Avenue from the Kleinfeld wedding gown boutique, includes light maple, black laminate and glass shelving for a sleek, upscale look. In this setting, a carefully edited selection of jewelry, gifts, china, crystal, sterling silver and more is displayed; it represents a sliver of the Manhattan store’s jaw-dropping inventory.

Yet the Brooklyn location still has a wide selection of home accents from vases in an artful variety of shapes and colors, in classic and contemporary forms, to crystal candlesticks, to figurines and frames.

Whether the customer is looking for ideas for her own registry, for a gift or to indulge herself, Michael C. Fina is rife with temptation.

During the grand opening week, which begins April 17, the Brooklyn store will distribute a book, that offers discounts or perks from other bridal vendors in the borough, to couples who register or purchase engagement or wedding rings at Michael C. Fina.

"It’s an added value that the bride in Brooklyn gets, and it also serves to keep that bride in Brooklyn purchasing everything she needs," said Steven, emphasizing the store’s strategic location on Bay Ridge’s "Bridal Row." "Not only at Michael C. Fina, but at everybody around Michael C. Fina. We want to work together with the Brooklyn bridal community."

But as Jeffrey pointed out, April 17 is just another day at the Michael C. Fina office.

"The associates at our store are heavily trained about the product and service," he explained. "That’s our differentiation from our competitors. [Every day], we educate our consumers about the product, how to care for it, how to set a proper table or how to go about creating their own, eclectic table setting."
New beginnings

As we swap winter’s heavy drapes, tablecloths and bedding in favor of lightweight, more gaily patterned or brightly-colored fabrics, it’s an ideal time to choose a new china pattern or tabletop accessory to make the table an equal part of the home’s seasonal transformation.

Michael C. Fina offers china from famed designers Vera Wang and Kate Spade as well as Deruta’s meticulously hand-painted pottery.

"We are one of the few retailers in the country that offer Deruta or who offer that kind of handpainted china," said Steven, adding that Michael C. Fina has carried that brand of Italian pottery for over two years now. "If you look, you can see a little bit of differentiation between each piece."

Michael C. Fina carries many china patterns that are truly a breath of fresh spring air. Spode’s "Kyushu" table setting, named after one of the islands of Japan, is obviously influenced by that country’s affinity with nature. This botanical pattern incorporates a riotous mix of colors - green, orange, slate blue and more - with gingko leaves and borders reminiscent of kimono patterns.

For those who prefer a more restrained hand when it comes to color, Spade’s "Library Lane Aqua" place setting features bands of watery blue, grass green and twinkling silver for a preppy pattern that’s perfect for a luncheon with the house tour planning committee.

Adding light-catching crystal accents is another way to lighten the mood of the tabletop. Because Michael C. Fina is not only a store, but a brand, they commission their own lead crystal chargers and goblets with hand-painted platinum and gold borders that are as intricate as the finest lace.

In addition to accenting conservative china patterns, the transparent charger can double as a serving dish, explained Steven.


One-stop shopping

More than half of the Bay Ridge location is devoted to jewelry and gifts, and much of it is appealingly displayed in cases set into the walls (which minimize the usual, awkward bending-and-gawking that takes place at the average jewelry counter). In addition to cases of engagement rings and wedding bands that are separated by designer, there are cases of gift ideas for men , jewelry for religious occasions, and even 14-karat white gold necklaces with the Brooklyn area code "718" drawn in diamonds.

There are baby gifts and Tacori’s exquisite bridal jewelry and hairpieces (including tiaras and hairsticks, many fashioned from mother of pearl).

"We spend many weeks out of the year traveling and looking for new things for our customers to see and feel," said Steven. "Our commitment is to provide the best possible product to our customers."



The grand opening of the Michael C. Fina boutique (8211 Fifth Ave. at 82nd Street in Bay Ridge) will be celebrated the week of April 17. For more information, call (718) 748- 5100 or visit www.mcfina.com.

©2005 Community Newspaper Group


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