Less traffic than nearby Kenwood Towne Centre. Less hassle for husbands shopping for wives, less inattention from sales clerks and less big-box uniformity.

Page Hall (right) helps Mona Karram of Indian Hill shop. Page is the owner of The Posh Poppy in the Laurel House Shops in Madeira. (Enquirer photo/Ernest Coleman)

In turn, owners hope for more time-pressed gift shoppers, more casual browsers, more buyers of high-end home furnishings and more sales of hand-knitted sweater outfits for kids.

The Laurel House collection of seven retailers is less than 2 years old, and an infusion of five new shops this spring has led to the rejuvenation of this mini-mall near the center of Madeira.

It may also create enough energy to make it a destination shop for affluent residents of nearby Indian Hill, Madeira, and Kenwood.

"I think people are malled out," said Cindy Heitzman, an Indian Hill resident and co-owner of C-Ja's of Camargo Fine Apparel.

"It's all the same stuff at the malls. And it seems to me that most of the inventory is geared for people 25 years old or younger."

Laurel House contains seven one-room shops, though by design it is difficult to tell where one shop ends and the next begins.

Each room is painted a different color, and no shop has the same inventory.

So, Hattitudes has a colorful array of hats, suede boucle hair clips, Elaine Turner clutches and handbags and Mindy Lamb earrings.

Primrose Hill offers beauty products, bath, body oils and washes, including One-Minute Manicure, one of the most popular items.

Ella Bella has upscale fashions for toddlers. The Posh Poppy offers an eclectic array of gifts for women, with a section devoted to men's furnishings. Want a European mounted roebuck rack? The Posh Poppy has an assortment.

It also has antler barbecue gear, a fly-fishing book or two and enough tony barware to stock an English cigar club.

The structure of the operation is simple. Shop owners are responsible for working at least one shift a week. That means attention to customer service is always done by an owner.

Duplication of services is minimized, too, because each shop shares the cost of back-office operations such as bookkeeping, billing, sales and rent.

Backlash of the future?

Retailing expert Anthony L. Liuzzo, professor of business and economics and director of the MBA program at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., wonders if the Laurel House approach may represent the future of retailing - a backlash against impersonal mass market retailing.

After all, most Americans have a bias toward small businesses, and they certainly appreciate little companies.

"They like the notion of going to a small store," Liuzzo said. "It's rooted in our traditions and history. People like and appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit."

It is probably too soon to say that the demallification of America is under way, he said.

But Hattitudes co-owner Karen Troja believes customers appreciate the one-of-a-kind nature of many of the items sold at the shops. Why else would people drive in from other cities and villages to come to the store, she wondered.

While proximity to affluent Indian Hill is undeniable, a ZIP code analysis of customers shows a strong and growing Northern Kentucky base, too.

"We look at the ZIP codes of customers; and really, I'm amazed at how far people drive," said Troja. "Some of our best customers are from Fort Thomas."

Jewelry artist too busy to be on Oprah's show

Sandy Rueve, formerly of Cincinnati and now of Chicago, may be the only artist on earth who was invited but declined to appear on Oprah Winfrey's popular TV talk show.

And the St. Ursula graduate declined the opportunity not once but twice.

"The first time she asked, I was still in my basement," said Rueve, who owns She Beads, the popular jewelry sold in Greater Cincinnati at the Century House in Glendale and sister shop The Laurel House in Madeira.

"The second time she asked I was so, so, so busy. These are handmade products. It's harder to be artistic under pressure."

Made of hand-rolled clay, the beads have been shown on the covers of People magazine and TV Guide and were worn by a contestant on the television show Survivor.

A portion of proceeds from the pink ribbon and teal ribbon oneness lines help fund breast cancer and ovarian cancer causes.

How popular are these beads?

"I have 50 stores waiting to carry my lines, and 200 women want to be sales divas," Rueve said recently in a phone conversation from Chicago.

What's inside The Laurel House

• Ellabella - Clothing, gifts and room accessories for infants and youngsters

• C-Ja's Fine Apparel - Upscale clothing for women

• Primrose Hill - A bath, body and gift shop

• MCH Designs - Gifts, art and accessories for the kitchen and home

• Hattitudes - An tony handbag, jewelry and hat haven

• The Posh Poppy - Stylish barware, wedding gifts and men's accessories

• Century House - Vera Bradley handbags and She Beads

7801 Laurel Ave. (513) 271-7801.

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E-mail jeckberg@enquirer.com