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.
