 "Photo: Candace Shankel | The Spectator")
 "Photo: Candace Shankel | The Spectator")
On a block off the typical beaten path of Seattle’s downtown retail center, three shops called Fancy, Schmancy and Nancy sell adorable goods and are as interrelated as their rhyming names imply.
The three stores sell handcrafted jewelry, toys and other trinkets. Fancy was the first store to open and sells jewelry made by owner Sally Brock as well as around 50 other designers, many of whom are local.
Brock has been making jewelry since she was a teenager, beginning by making things out of polymer clay. She fell in love with crafting jewelry and went to the University of North Texas to get her bachelor’s of fine arts in jewelry and metals.
She and her partner opened Fancy Jewels in 2002 and began selling Brock’s jewelry. Many of her pieces are rings made of recycled metals. As a result, the store gets a lot of business from brides and grooms-to-be, which was not something Brock anticipated.
“It’s not really a business I ever wanted to get into,” Brock said. “But since we’re so nontraditional, we don’t really get a lot of ‘bridezillas.’ That’s a relief.”
Because of their booming bridal business, Fancy will soon launch a revamped Web site featuring a bridal registry.
The store is bright, airy and features jewelry both very formal and slightly silly. Smaller jewelry comes in boxes shaped like fruit or small animals.
Brock’s partner Eric, who co-owns Fancy, is an old college friend of Aaron Murray, who owns Nancy.
Murray decided to open the store just down the block with his wife Kate in 2006. The store sells a wide variety of items such as handmade cards (made by Kate), ceramics (made by Aaron) and various other knick-knacks.
Brock became friends with Kristen Rask when she started selling her homemade button rings to Fancy. Rask was on a career path that wasn’t working for her, so she decided to open a store on the same block called Schmancy and sell items similar to those she had been collecting over the years from Kidrobot, a Web site selling unusual toys and apparel.
Schmancy is a toy store, but the toys are definitely not just for kids. Items range in price from $4 to $600 and include things like key chains, wallets and plush toys, from the super cute to somewhat creepy. The store’s quirky items include a bear marionette with human-like teeth, plush mustaches and painted duct-tape wallets. Each year, Rask hosts an event called PlushYou in which she accepts entries of handmade plush toys from all over the world juried and selected in an exhibition to be sold at Schmancy. Rask is also working on a PlushYou book.
“I have kind of a plush reputation now,” Rask said.
Together, the three stores host art shows on the second Friday of every month featuring work from local artists.
Katy may be reached at kmccourt@su-spectator.com
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