Quiet opening

By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The idea is to make couples feel comfortable when they walk in the door.
But keep walking and you may find a few things that make you blush -- or giggle.
The opening of Ambiance: The Store For Lovers on Boardman-Poland Road came without much fanfare this week. And without any whisper of protest, despite concerns by township trustees that the store would wouldn't fit into the community.
Jennifer Downey, Ambiance president, said the idea is to create a tasteful atmosphere, where "mom and pop" can shop. She tries to avoid explicit packaging, carries no X-rated items and will never offer hard-core bondage supplies.
"People need a place to shop," Downey said. "They want to go someplace and try things, and a lot of people aren't into adult stores, especially women.
"We want to give couples a place to shop where they don't feel funny coming in."
She said the store targets couples in monogamous relationships looking to "spice things up." They might choose to do that with anything from lotion or massage oil to sex toys and what Downey calls "marital aids."
Township Administrator Curt Seditz said he had received no calls complaining of the store's opening.
No regulations
Trustees recently passed a resolution setting limits on strip club and massage parlor locations. And the township zoning commission this week recommended that the trustees amend the zoning ordinance to place regulations on adult theaters and bookstores.
Though trustees had many questions about the Ambiance business, there are no provisions to regulate its opening. Seditz said some items in the store can also be found at other retailers, such as Spencer Gifts at the Southern Park Mall. Trustees, he said, chose to focus on more "intense" sexually oriented businesses.
While there was no grand opening, Downey said business went well on the store's first day Tuesday. "I think they were waiting for us," she said.
Though many customers came in, others just peeked in the windows.
"They want to come in," she said. "They're a little hesitant at first, but it only takes one time, then they realize it's not so bad."
Groups of young people who enter the store may be asked to leave, Downey said. But moms with strollers are welcome. And Ambiance accepts the Golden Buckeye Card, giving a 10 percent discount to senior citizens.
This is the ninth store for Ambiance, based in Cleveland. Downey said the next move is to the Pittsburgh area.
The business was founded in 1981 by Downey's husband, Henry Keiluhn, company vice president. He began with in-home party sales. Downey became involved a few months after Ambiance's inception. (Her last job had been trading over-the-counter stocks in New York.)
The couple has been married 16 years.
As such, Downey said, she's also a store customer -- or, as she terms it, a "product tester." (She says many people want that job.)
What sells
The Boardman store will focus its first weeks on Sweetest Day, coming Oct. 19. One product marketed for that date is the $22.99 "Romantic Encounter Kit," with lotions, candles, a spinner game and a book on simple seduction.
So what is Downey's top seller?
"Batteries."
Another big item is "sex chocolates" that contain herbal aphrodisiacs in the mix. Lotions, oils and games for couples (another way of trying something different, Downey said ) also rank high on the list.
A further tour through the shop offers items from the tame to not-so-tame, and from the inexpensive to the not-so-inexpensive.
Sizzling body candy that pops when it hits the tongue costs $5.99. A game called "Foreplay" sells for $24.99. The Better Sex three-video or three-DVD series runs $49.99.
In abundance is lingerie -- from the basic soft-silk type to those featuring feathers, lace and vinyl. You'll find camouflage sets, French maid, school girl (also a big seller) and nurse outfits.
Though a pair of panties can sell for about $12 or $20, the feathered, sheer robe is $119.
More toys
As for toys, there are swings, including a bungee swing that makes one weightless ($329).
Or for the not-so-adventurous, there are glow-in-the-dark erotic dice ($5.99). One die tells you what to do; the other says where to do it.
A Bed of Roses, for $12.99, gives 100 silk rose petals, an invitation and candles. Chocolate body paint, also $12.99, comes with a tiny paint brush.
And one wall features items that would be most popular at bachelorette parties -- with favors (from squirt guns to tooth picks) in the shape of ... well, of what the bride will see on her wedding night.
There are ticklers, minimassagers and a waterproof Rubber Ducky (actually, it's foam) that vibrates ($12.99).
The "marital aids" come in many shapes and sizes (and colors), too -- they run from $12.99 for a basic model, to more than $120 for the top of the line.
The more expensive types may have more powerful motors, remote control devices or "bells and whistles," Downey said.
For $9.99 you can get "52 Weeks of Romance" or "52 Weeks of Naughty Nights," each offering scratch-off cards giving couples ideas.
And "101 Nights of Great Sex," with tear-out pages, costs $29.99.
Downey said all shoppers have limits and may not be interested in some of the products she offers. But, she suggests, "you never know you don't like it unless you try it once."
"It's all about stepping out of your comfortable box" she said, "and doing something different."
viviano@vindy.com