Showroom

Service Merchandise Co. Inc., the last catalog-showroom chain in the United States, said yesterday that it will shut down four of six Maryland stores by the end of the week as part of earlier plans to close more than a third of its stores.Stores in Frederick, Salisbury, Waldorf and Forestville will close, said Laura Ellis, communications director.Those stores employed 252 people at the time the store closings were announced in February. The retailer expects few employee transfers because of the number of store closings, Ellis said.

Everything gets a makeover these days, and cable TV shows abound on how do-it-yourselfers can turn tired into trendy, albeit with some risk. But when it comes to the fireplace surround or the outdoor kitchen, some things are best left to the experts. Luckily, Howard County homeowners don't have to go far to get the look they want, and the expertise to get it right, the first time. “We're really the one-stop shop for a fireplace makeover,” says Jay Doll, who runs Artistic Surrounds in Savage Mill.

TOKYO -- General Motors Corp., which has had trouble cracking the Japanese market, tried something new yesterday.It opened a glittery, temporary showroom in a busy section of Tokyo -- one of the first tangible byproducts of President Bush's controversial January trip, which was designed to sell cars and create "jobs, jobs, jobs" for American workers.But judging by reactions of visitors, GM cars still are going to be a hard sell in Japan. Among the barriers: price, size and quality."It looks really terrific," 26-year-old Kouzo Iwasaki said, wriggling into the seat of a white Camaro convertible with a sticker price of 4,500,000 yen, about $36,000.

Anne Arundel Community College student Susan Wasilewski crafted a design for a chair that a New York furniture company turned into a finished product. Someday, Wasilewski hopes to design more pieces for an entire set of furniture that might show up in showrooms worldwide. Wasilewski, a resident of St. Michaels, saw the design claim the top prize this year at the Made: In America Washington, D.C., Furniture Design Competition. Her concept was called the PHI chair, named for an architectural-geometric term denoting balance.

To hear the owner of the city's major in-town automobile agency describe his family's experience, the past 50-odd years have been as steady as one of their big Oldsmobiles set on cruise control. In a city where department stores, schools and libraries have shut their doors in the past decade - and residents sought new housing in the suburbs - the Mortimers, father and son, have believed and invested in an old-fashioned city neighborhood. The ribbon-cutting tomorrow for a new $2 million Anderson Honda showroom at Howard and 25th streets culminates an expansion shaped by a philosophy that this location - not far from downtown Baltimore - is a good place to do business.

Leslie Meilman -- entrepreneur, survivor, purveyor of stylish home furnishings -- stands amazed in the half-finished, 3,800-square-foot, right-on-Main-Street space in Ellicott City that will be her new store. "I never thought I'd be here," she says. She's right; it's something of a miracle. Meilman was in Washington late last year, picking up an order for a customer, when her cell phone rang. It was one of her store staff members, who said, "Get back here as fast as you can, your store is on fire."

Three years ago, John Miller bought a Cadillac franchise to take advantage of the bold advances and sharper image he saw the General Motors company creating for the long-held brand. Now Miller is hoping that investment will pay off in one of the most affluent areas in the state. Miller Brothers Automotive Family recently opened a new Ellicott City showroom for Cadillac, expanding the franchise with the aim of attracting luxury car buyers in Howard County, which has relatively few luxury choices.

If you're buying a car at Warren Wheeler's dealership, you might find yourself haggling with a salesman whose desk is in "Duffy Zepp's Livery Stables." If you're really serious, you can close the deal down the hall at "Wheeler's General Store." Finally, if you walk away with a set of keys, the sale is announced by the clang of a bell at a faux train station. This is "Wheeler," a scaled-down version of small-town Carroll County, with storefronts that serve as office walls and carpeting made to look like dirt roads - all in a fourth-generation car dealer's newest showroom.

After holding back most of the year, Maryland motorists went on a buying spree last month that boosted new car sales 18 percent over the corresponding period of 1995, according to figures released Friday by the state Motor Vehicle Administration.The flurry of showroom activity seemed to catch some dealers by surprise and followed the sharpest decline of the year in November, when sales were off 22 percent."I guess people had money left over after doing their Christmas shopping," said Jeffrey A. Legum, president of Westminster Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Chevrolet.

Everything gets a makeover these days, and cable TV shows abound on how do-it-yourselfers can turn tired into trendy, albeit with some risk. But when it comes to the fireplace surround or the outdoor kitchen, some things are best left to the experts. Luckily, Howard County homeowners don't have to go far to get the look they want, and the expertise to get it right, the first time. “We're really the one-stop shop for a fireplace makeover,” says Jay Doll, who runs Artistic Surrounds in Savage Mill.

It's beach season! Time for a week, if you are lucky, on the coast to enjoy all that the Maryland and Delaware shores have to offer — including some really great shopping. With a built-in captive audience of second-home owners, the Mid-Atlantic coastal towns offer a variety of home furnishings and accessories boutiques with merchandise that suggests a laid-back lifestyle without being overly beachy. For me, no trip to the shore is complete without stopping into my favorite shops to see what's new. Here are a few that are worth a beach detour: Boxwood Home 39 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del. One of my new favorites, Boxwood Home is perfect for home decorators looking to create a calm, sophisticated look.

Local motorists bored with their Mercedes, BMW or Bentley have one place to go around here where someone will listen to such troubles without judgment, without even a snicker. At Maryland's only Maserati dealer, they understand. On York Road in Timonium, of all places, across from Bagel Works and next to Timonium Animal Hospital, Jack Davis, the general manager, and salesman Alfred Ramos hear the stories of men, and even the occasional woman, in pursuit of something ... something ... else.

Gerald J. Stautberg, a longtime auto dealer whose TV advertisements - "For the best deal anywhere, you just gotta come to Jerry's" - wooed generations of car buyers to his Parkville dealership, died Sunday of pneumonia at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The Monkton resident was 79. "Jerry was one of the first dealers to use radio and TV advertising in this market. He was a real pioneer," said John Sophocles, former general manager of Jerry's Chevrolet, who is now president of TASCO, a telemessaging company that Mr. Stautberg has owned since 1988.

Contracts * MGH announced that the locally headquartered marketing communications agency has been selected as agency of record for Robbins Diamonds. Expansion * IWIF, the Towson based workers' compensation insurer, has formed a strategic business team to support its public entity and direct business accounts. The team will work with policyholders and agents to improve workplace safety standards and reduce losses and hidden costs of workplace injuries. Openings * Thompson Creek Manufacturing announced the opening of its new home improvement product showroom on Brightseat Road in Landover.

Salli Ward Wardrobe consultant/personal shopper Wonderful Wardrobes, Owings Mills Salary --$35,500 Age --61 Years on the job --17 How she got started --Working as a wardrobe consultant is a second career for Ward, who spent 25 years as an elementary school teacher in Illinois. While she was still teaching, she began selling the Doncaster brand of clothing as a part-time job. She moved to Maryland in 1996 and continued working as a sales consultant for the company. "I see my role as helping women find clothes that work for them."

Knowledge is ammunition when spending your money smarter, but many furniture shoppers are unarmed on the showroom floor. Furniture can carry misleading labels, suggesting, for example, that a piece is made of solid cherry when it's really particleboard with a cherry veneer. The Federal Trade Commission in 2002 rescinded consumer-friendly guidelines for accurately labeling and advertising home furniture, claiming guides were unnecessary. "That's an important point to note because they can sell any kind of furniture they want and label it any way they want," said Jennifer Litwin, author of Best Furniture Buying Tips Ever!

Post-grad IOU: A lot of people leave college and grad school with some big promissory notes attached to their diplomas. Nolo Press, a publisher of self-help law materials, says nearly 45 percent of undergraduates use student loans to finance at least part of their education, and the average undergrad leaves school owing about $11,000.Post-showroom costs: If you're thinking of plunking down a lot of money for a big or expensive car, you'd better be prepared to be doing a lot more plunking long after you drive that baby out of the showroom.

This country cannot afford a trade war with the whole world at once. Enemies should be chosen very carefully.If W. Faulkner were alive today, he would be in mid-sentence. Ditto, J. Michener.Higher insurance for bigger trucks and utility vehicles because they do more damage? Gosh, they didn't warn you of that in the showroom.Cheer up. "Homicide" is back.Pub Date: 10/20/97

If Home Depot was smaller, less expensive and sent its profits to charity, it might look something like the Renovation Station. A do-it-yourselfer's dream, the 6,000-square-foot Pasadena showroom, run by Arundel Habitat for Humanity, is packed with deeply discounted new or gently used home furnishings and remodeling supplies: brand-name windows, doors, cabinets, appliances, tables, chests and dining sets. There are boxes of ceramic tiles, tubs of caulk, bins of electrical parts and surprises around every corner, such as a beautiful marble vanity with double shell-shaped sinks.

As a child, Dawn Patrick-Wout would rearrange pieces of furniture in her family's U.S. Virgin Islands home so often that her relatives looked forward to coming home to new settings. It would take decades - including 13 years as a therapist, mental-health advocate and director of mental-health programs - before she turned to her childhood passion to start a business. Yet she hasn't left the mental-health world completely behind. In fact, Patrick-Wout founded two Beltsville-based design companies to help people of all backgrounds feel better about themselves by beautifying their personal spaces.