Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, November 17, 2018

Mountain Views News Saturday, November 17, 2018 



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SHOP SIERRA MADRE

A NEW PLACE TO SHOP IN SIERRA MADRE: KOI

Sierra Madre Chamber Presents: 
2 1 inter 
Festiva 
The Holidays Begin In Sierra Madre! Join us in this years Winter Village Festival throughout downtown November 24th between 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. ·Come Join us for the festivities. Santa & Snow! There will be plenty of events for children and adults alike. Holiday music will be scattered throughout SLIDE DOWN THE SIERRA MADRE REAL SNOW HILL!! See your children's delight when the tree is lit. SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP! Start your holiday off with a romantic horse and carriage ride. Shop for those special gifts at our local businesses. Don't miss the non-profit clubs and organizations booths. Winter Village Festival is sponsored by the Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce and 
Kensington Senior Living Santa Anita Race Track 
Athens Waste Management .MOJ1nt1in Views NewsBIG IMPACT SHOP SMALL -----* -----
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY 
Koi may be new to Sierra Madre, but Linda 
Davis has owned this store for over 18 years. 
She started in a 6000 square foot location in 
South Pasadena and is now located at 26 N 
Baldwin in Sierra Madre. As this location is 
smaller-800 square feet-, Linda is looking to 
add a second, larger location in Pasadena in 
the near future. The Sierra Madre location is 
affectionately dubbed ‘Little Koi’. 

 Linda started off as a top-notch vintage 
buyer. She has an excellent eye for products 
and can see how to put pieces together to 
create an artsy and unique outfit. All of her 
merchandise at Koi fits this category. She 
views getting dressed as, “a kind of art,” and 
so do her customers. Women flock to Koi, 
and Linda comments that Koi has become 
a clubhouse of sorts, where “Koi Women” 
meet up to talk to each other and Linda while 
they shop. She comments that “Hairdressers 
are described as therapists, and that’s what we 
are too,”. 

 Koi is, “a little bit like a museum…plenty 
of people come in to look,” and it is easy 
to see why. The store is filled with colorful 
and textured clothing items, as well and 
handmade jewelry. Brenda Henriques makes 
most of the jewelry sold in Koi, and just like 
the clothing it is textured, artsy, and unique. 
You would be hard pressed to find pieces as 
beautiful as Brenda’s at a department store. 

 Linda is, and always has been, the single 
buyer for Koi. She shops with an eye for what 
more mature women might want to wear. 
“We’re not dead; we’re still cool,” she says, and she knows how to find pieces that are beautiful and comfortable, 
while also making a statement. She is more focused on helping her customers to look good than on making sales, 
and this approach to the fashion business is precisely why she has been so successful. Her customers trust her. 
They know that she is not trying to sell them something merely to make a profit, but rather to give them items that 
make them feel beautiful. She says that “dressing is personal,” and she wants to help women express themselves 
with their clothes. This attention to detail and to customer relations is an embodiment of the name of the store: 
“koi” literally translates to “love”. 

 Linda also designed the interior, picking colors that would make the space feel happy and using vintage pieces 
because of the comfort that they bring. From the moment you walk in, there are so many interesting things that it 
is hard to know where to look first. From purses and scarves to statement skirts, to the jewelry, to fantastic coats. 
It is not unusual for popular items to move quickly, because Linda has an excellent sense of what her customers 
want. Next time you are on Baldwin, make sure to stop in and take a look! R. Wright/MVNews


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com