CityView Magazine

20 | March 2020 new box of Crayola crayons?" she said. "at's how I felt. is is the world's largest crayon box. is has everything journalism has without the death and destruction." She started by donating 15,000 bolts of outdated fabric to over 75 nonprofits between Fayetteville and Richmond. Under the guidance of sales manager Robin Gantt, seamstress Nina Long and some benevolent fabric vendors, she used her savings to buy all new fabric. "ese vendors truly gave me my second graduate degree," Augustin said. "ey gave me advice. ey said invest in this; don't invest in that. We were rebuilding from scratch, essentially. I think in the last two-plus years I've gotten a better sense of what my clientele is looking for." It turns out that many who drop by rather than pop into the store find more than just a little decorating direction. ere's always a pot of coffee on, always something sweet for nibbling. Customers and those just browsing are welcome to pull up a chair and visit, an invitation many oen accept. e pace here, set by Augustin, Gantt, Long and part-time design guru Martha Jessup, is customer service with a side of humor and compassion. Stephen Horne rounds out the staff as logistical manager. "It's a whole lot of fun," said Carole Goforth. "Babette has a great variety and a willingness to help." Goforth most recently turned to e Mill End Store for help with a beloved chair that had fallen victim to the constant gnawing of the family's beagle-cocker spaniel mix, who bears the ironic name of Gently. Gently likes to sit in the chair with Carole's husband, R.B. "If he's in the chair four hours, she's in his lap four hours," Carole Goforth said. Which is the kind of little tale that Augustin loves to hear. "is business gives me everything that I went into journalism for: to listen to people's stories and to meet people," she said. "at's what I get to do here. We're sort of this hub. We're like the hairdressers in 'Steel Magnolias.' We connect people." "And it's absolutely fabulous." "This business gives me everything that I went into journalism for: to listen to people's stories and to meet people," Augustin said. "That's what I get to do here. We're sort of this hub. We're like the hairdressers in 'Steel Magnolias.' We connect people."

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