live Local
The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses
Lake Highlands resident Samantha Phillips is the owner and instructor for My Smart Hands™ (mysmarthandsdfw.com), a company teaching baby/caregiver sign language classes. Phillips and her husband have been Lake Highlands residents for more than 10 years, and started the company last fall. “I started using ASL signs with my oldest daughter Lauren, who was born with Down syndrome. Children with Down syndrome typically have difficulty with muscle control and strength, making speech, walking, writing and many more activities very difficult to learn, therefore teaching Lauren signs became an invaluable communication tool,” Phillips says. She continued to sign with her two younger children and has seen the benefits of signing firsthand. Phillips offers several different types of classes, depending on the child’s age and the caregiver’s availability. Advocate readers can receive 20 percent off their class fees; contact Phillips at samantha@mysmarthands.com or 214.587.7292 for the specifics.
For the men out there who hate to get out to shop, retailer J Hilburn (jhilburn.com) came up with the novel idea of bringing the shop to you. Since launching in 2007, J Hilburn has been offering discerning male shoppers custom-made shirts at about half the price of retail by cutting out the overhead of inventory and a storefront. Lake Highlands resident Mavis Stewart is a J Hilburn style advisor. So what’s the process? Stewart meets customers in their homes or offices, takes some measurements, shows some swatches, reviews their preferences, yada, yada, yada, you’ve got polos, dress shirts or sweaters to go. Plus, Advocate readers receive $20 off their first shirt. In the market? Contact Stewart at mavis.stewart@jhilburnpartner.com or 972.898.5408.
Boyd Wallace, owner of Dallas Bike Works, has been racing bikes for more than 14 years, and his bike retail and repair shop has been located off of Skillman and Abrams for more than 20 years. This month Wallace is opening his second store near White Rock Lake in what was formerly PT’s Gentleman’s Club (Lawther Drive). Renovations have been underway for the past several months, and the interior has been reconfigured to include lots of retail space for bikes, ranging from hardcore mountain bikes to strolling-leisurely-around-the-lake bikes, plus, of course, bike repair bays. Visit dallasbikeworks.com for store hours.
Peanut Feet is the brainchild of Lake Highlands mom Jill Gindy Schuler, who was underwhelmed by the selection of cute socks and such (that actually stay on) for her newborn daughter’s “tiny, peanut feet”. So, about a year ago, “being a creative person and so excited I had a girl that I could ‘play dress-up with’, I got out my craft box and some beads from my son’s art desk and went to work and Peanut Feet grew from there …”. Schuler’s newest addition is coordinating hair accessories (a presh line of felt hair clippies), which were a huge hit at the recent LHAECPTA Shopping Soiree. Schuler will also customize socks and accessories through her Etsy shop; just let her know what you’re looking for. Visit peanutfeet.etsy.com to check out her goods.
Lake Highlands resident Pat Hicks was inspired to start New Life Hardwood Floors after a friend provided reclaimed flooring for his own home. Loving the idea of rescuing pine, oak, walnut, chestnut and other “species” from deconstructed buildings and homes, he knew he was on to something lots of other folks could get behind. The often 60- to 100-year-old lumber that would have otherwise been thrown away is conserved, and from it new tongue and groove hardwood flooring is created. Hicks’ flooring is competitive to new flooring, and has a much cooler story. Visit newlifehardwoodfloors.com or call Hicks at 214.342.3800 for more information.
Speaking of trees, if you need some trimmed, Lindsey’s Tree Service (lindseytreeservice.com) is still the go-to biz for many Lake Highlands residents. Tom and Lourie Lindsey have been Lake Highlands residents for more than 30 years. The Lindseys opened their first retail shop at the corner of Plano and Northwest Highway, and then moved it across the street in 2006 to a location about four or five times larger that provides more room for retail space. Recently, they expanded their merchandise to include more specialty cooking woods including pecan, hickory, apple and peach, to name a few. The Lindseys encourage you to pop in and pick some up, and would like to offer $5 off any bag of cooking wood to Advocate readers. Let it be known that the Lindsey’s do their part to reduce, reuse and recycle as well: They make mulch of their clients’ trimmings and make it available free of charge to customers. Just pull up your truck and shovel, and it’s yours for the taking.
