“Super Chic” Store Opens

In the past six weeks they have moved to Santa Barbara, signed a lease on well-placed downtown retail space, re-finished the interior, filled it with mostly custom inventory from scratch, and opened for business on December 1, just in time for holiday shopping. The new store, Super Chic, is unlike any other in Santa Barbara, offering an eclectic range of items in the general realm of home décor, each reflecting the design interests (and in many cases hands-on, custom touches) of the proprietors. The store is at 1A W. Canon Perdido Street, adjacent to Paseo Nuevo Mall.

After deciding to move to Santa Barbara, Terry sold his successful floral business in San Francisco. Brian comes from a background in fashion and has worked with Louis Vitton and Prada, among others. Self-proclaimed “designers at heart,” they are combining their talents to launch a business that allows them, as Terry says, “to explore all the creative avenues that we have.”

Many of those avenues are apparent in the store, which is arrayed with specialty items including antiques, custom pillows, new furnishings that have been refinished or otherwise tweaked, as well as live orchids and succulents. More than half of the inventory is either antique or has been hand-customized in some way. The juxtaposition of textures and themes engenders, as Terry puts it, “conversations between objects.” He promises that the store will constantly evolve as they continue to develop new ideas and interests.

The team is also very service-oriented, and cultivating relationships with clients is a high priority. As Terry explains, “we will get to know you, and then we’ll call when we find something that we think is right for you.” In addition to home decor, they offer floral services for events.

Michael Martz of Hayes Commercial Group helped Calhoun and Callahan find the space and represented them in the lease transaction. “They wanted to be near the mall but in a storefront facing the street,” Martz said. “They also wanted to have the flexibility to create their own hours, and being in the mall proper would have come with schedule constraints, not to mention much higher rent.” Kristopher Roth, also of Hayes Commercial, represented the lessor.

“I’m impressed by how quickly Terry and Brian got their business up and running,” Martz added, “and I expect they will find success here in Santa Barbara.”