Spotlight - Providence Business News

FAMILY BUSINESS: The Music Complex RI, with locations in Smithfield and Pawtucket, offers lessons, sales/repairs, rehearsals and recording. Pictured are owner Rudy D’Agostino, left, and his son, Rudy D’Agostino Jr., manager. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

The Music Complex RI offering something for artists of all levels

Entrepreneurship 09/27/2024

Growing up, Rudy D’Agostino was always interested in guitar, so he decided to pick one up and never looked back. Soon enough, D’Agostino found himself...

BUDDING BUSINESS: After honing her skills working at and managing other flower farms, Anna Jane Kocon opened Little State Flower Co. in Tiverton in 2014, which she owns and operates, with a focus on retail sales but also works with florists. PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

Kocon combines creative, artistic side with farming skills to operate flower...

Entrepreneurship 09/13/2024

Though Anna Jane Kocon didn’t set out to become a flower farmer, it’s a profession that, in retrospect, feels like a natural marriage of her...

NOSTALGIA RENAISSANCE: Annie Schisler, co-owner of Top Shelf Vintage Co. in Pawtucket, says she’s noticed a resurgence in the desire to own vintage items during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, which she feels comes from the escapism of rediscovering old favorites. PBN PHOTO/PAUL J. SPETRINI

What’s old is cool again at Top Shelf Vintage

Entrepreneurship 08/30/2024

Like a pair of New-World explorers, Annie Schisler and Douglas Valeri spend much of their days – when not in their store – on...

KEY COMPONENT: Carolyn Simon, owner of the East Side Art Center in Pawtucket, works with student Bruce Kilstein, of Providence. Having been in operation for more than 30 years, Simon values the relationships with her students and says they have been key to the center’s continued success. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

East Side Art Center gets fresh start in Pawtucket

Art & Culture 08/16/2024

When Carolyn Simon had to relocate the East Side Art Center from Providence to a new building in Pawtucket last year after her husband...

COLORFUL COLLECTION: Lauren Pearlman Sugita, founder and owner of specialty papermaker, importer and distributor Paper Connection International LLC in Providence, estimates she stocks at least a million sheets of paper locally, more than half of which comes from Japan, but she also sources from Korea, Nepal, China, the Philippines and Mexico. PBN PHOTO/PAUL J. SPETRINI

A rare source for paper imports

Entrepreneurship 08/02/2024

When leading arts and research institutions like the Rhode Island School of Design and Library of Congress need to restore centuries-old prints and manuscripts,...

AI ASSIST: Pharmacy technician Nabile Bonagua reaches for medication from the SynMed XF, a pill-packing robot, at Horizon Pharmacy in Warwick. Horizon uses artificial intelligence to help it fill prescriptions, allowing pharmacists to focus on patients. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Nonprofit ownership gives closed-door pharmacy leg up on competitors

Entrepreneurship 07/19/2024

Horizon Pharmacy is far from your typical drug store. Operating as a social enterprise, it is owned by three nonprofit community mental health centers –...

WINNING DESIGNS: Bad Mouth Bikes owner Shawn Dow in his Warwick shop, where he and his team perform custom motorcycle builds that have won awards and will be featured in an upcoming reality TV show. PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Designing and building award-winning custom choppers

Entrepreneurship 07/05/2024

Before striking out on his own, Shawn Dow, owner of Warwick-based Bad Mouth Bikes, had more than 20 years of experience rebuilding and repairing...

WIDE VARIETY: In addition to secondhand items such as clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry and seasonal goods for people, Carmen & Ginger Vintage Goods owner Christine Francis also offers unused, locally made items and accessories for cats and dogs at her store in Warren.  PBN PHOTO/ARTISTIC IMAGES

Vintage finds for people and their pets

Entrepreneurship 06/21/2024

When naming the online brand that would eventually become her brick-and-mortar business, Christine Francis looked to her pets – Carmen, a calico cat, and...

STATUE GUY: James Fennessy collected statues and busts from antique stores up and down the East Coast for years before eventually dealing his collection at Nostalgia Antiques and Collectibles and ultimately taking over ownership of the Providence shop.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Fennessy finds success dealing collectibles at Nostalgia

Entrepreneurship 06/07/2024

While his collection has dwindled, James Fennessy’s title as the “statue guy” lives on through Nostalgia Antiques and Collectibles in Providence. Since he was 10...