Talking Business: Carpet One closes Longview shop

Columbia River Carpet One Floor and Home shut down its Longview interior decorating store last month and consolidated its merchandise and services at its original Rainier location.

"The economy won't support two of them. The builders aren't building houses," co-owner Scott Nelson said.

Nelson's father, Leroy Nelson, started the business in 1966 in Rainier, selling floor covering, blinds, tiling, wood refinishing products and carpeting. The business grew over the years and began landing six-figure commercial contracts and working all over the Pacific Northwest.

In the late 1990s, the Nelsons opened a second store at 1015 Vandercook Way in Longview, focusing on high-end interior decorating and featuring a large showroom.

The business did well in the early 2000s but started to falter when the real-estate market fell off a cliff about three years ago, according to Scott Nelson. Columbia River Carpet is recovering slowly and actually saw sales increase 1.5 percent last year, but Nelson said the boost was not enough to keep up with the rising costs of equipment and materials.

The Nelsons made the difficult decision to close the Longview store at the beginning of the year, and the last day was Jan. 25.

"We just couldn't see the future being strong" for two stores, Nelson said.

Also, Leroy Nelson told The Daily News last October that big-box retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe's were putting pressure on the business by offering carpet and flooring installation at volume discounts.

The business cut two jobs when the Longview store closed and retains 25 workers in Rainier at 105 B St., across from City Hall.

The consolidation breathed new life into the 12,000-square-foot Rainier store, which had been used primarily for warehousing, Scott Nelson said. The store has a new showroom, displaying the Hunter Douglas gallery of interior decorating that previously adorned the Longview location.

"What we did is combine the best of both stores," Nelson said.

Columbia River Carpet One is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Call 360-425-8404 or 503-556-0171 for more information.

Longview hair salon featured in national magazine

A Longview hair salon's work has been published in hairstyling magazine that tracks trends for new 'dos nationwide.

Visions of Hair at 1200 Broadway was featured in the Volume 81 Makeovers edition of Inspire, a quarterly trade magazine published by Creative Age Publications in Los Angeles. Stylists and colorists use Inspire to identify new trends in haircuts that clients might not otherwise consider, according to Creative Age.

Visions of Hair owner Letisha Harper has owned the shop for seven years and worked as a stylist for 29 years. She was named Glemby's Stylist of the Year in 1986, and her work on a new "Batman" hairdo has been lauded in a statewide publication, according to Creative Age.

Visions of Hair does all chemical services, coloring, straightening, perming, cuts, conditioning, extensions and facial waxing. The business is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Call 636-7220 for more information.

Visit http://www.creativeage.com for more information on the Inspire magazine article.

Talking Business is a weekly column about business openings, closings or major changes. Contact reporter Erik Olson with any business news tips at eolson@tdn.com or at 577-2510.

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Talking Business: Carpet One closes Longview shop