Above: Donna Bowman of Dusty Creations in On the second floor where Dillard’s once operated at Richland Mall, BLACKLION department store is growing business. The entire floor is occupied by a variety of vendors offering a multitude of products.

The BLACKLION experience is infectious. Bob Emory, owner of BLACKLION, is opening another 22 stores at Richland Mall, to include the ground level below BLACKLION. This reopens the south end of the mall which has plenty of parking.

The new 22 stores and the south–end connector have their opening night Thanksgiving at 6 pm. Everything will stay open for another 28 hours till 10 pm Friday. The next day, Saturday, the normal holiday hours will resume.

BLACKLION at Richland Mall Left: Elaine La Voie of La Voie’s Decorative Accents in BLACKLION in Richland Mall At La Voie’s Decorative Accents. Owners Elaine and Phil La Voie are particularly proud of their paintings.

The La Voies started over ten years ago as art dealers at their Wilde-wood home, then soon moved the gallery to their electronics manufacturing plant in northeast Columbia, and more recently have joined forces with BLACKLION.

BLACKLION’s collection of vendors affords the La Voies with an aggregation of activity, plenty of people decorating their homes. BLACKLION is staffed and secured every shopping day, so the La Voies can see the sales results even in their absence. There is one controlled entry and exit on the second level of Richland Mall, and at that point are the checkouts and gift–wrapping and other customer services.

Donna Bowman, a computer technology teacher for grades 9–12, owns Dusty Creations, also at BLACKLION. Dusty Creations sells stuffed dogs, all breeds and all sizes. Bowman’s dogs come from Douglas Cuddle Toys in Keene, New Hampshire. She also sells an assortment of canine–class gift cards for dog lovers who shop Dusty Creations.

An adjunct outlet for Bowman is her Web site: www.dustycreations.com. Bowman makes the rounds at dog shows in the South with her stuffed stock, and people come through Columbia to find her full offering at BLACKLION.

BLACKLION continues to be an asset to the community allowing vendors unique placement for their wares in Richland Mall and shoppers a variety of opportunities.