Candy closing

COEUR d'ALENE - Not everyone is a movie star or model, but Atsuko Schlesinger prides herself on making her customers feel like they are.

"Everyone has some positive thing about them," said Schlesinger, who has owned Candy O'Brien's Boutique in downtown Coeur d'Alene since 2008. "If you pick the right style, you can bring the best out in that person and make them look wonderful. I really enjoy that."

However, Schlesinger, 70, told The Press she is ready for retirement and starting today will begin selling all of the clothing and fixtures in the store. Anything left over will be donated to local women's shelters.

The thing Schlesinger said she will miss the most is interacting with her customers in the community and all over the world.

"Because of this store I have met so many wonderful friends," Schlesinger said. "For me it's always been about that connection with people."

Prior to purchasing the boutique, Schlesinger spent seven years working as a salesperson and seamstress under the guidance of Candy O'Brien - who founded the store with her mother, Marie, in 1968.

However getting there required overcoming numerous obstacles and heartbreak.

Schlesinger, who was born in Japan, lived in Southern California when she met her late husband, Michael. The couple moved to Coeur d'Alene in 1991 and opened Schlesinger's Street of Dreams in the Coeur d'Alene Plaza.

When Michael died from cancer five years later, Schlesinger said her life completely changed. Her heart wasn't in the business anymore, she said, and an attempt at selling it went south, leaving her bankrupt.

"I was thinking about going back to California or to Japan, where my family is," Schlesinger said. "But I ended up staying because of the wonderful friends I had met."

Even in California, Schlesinger said she always had owned her own businesses and as such had never had to look for a job. But after the bankruptcy left her "struggling and penniless," she began looking for any available work.

"I even tried to sell cars and I don't even know how to parallel park," Schlesinger said with a smile. "That was a joke. I don't know anything about cars but the manager said they wanted my personality on the lot."

After being a car saleswoman didn't pan out, she said she heard O'Brien was looking to hire someone to work at the boutique. The original location of the store was close to Schlesinger's former business and she said the two had become friends.

"I walked in and she gave me the job," Schlesinger said. "She's such a goofy person and so am I, so it was perfect. We had so much fun working together."

While working for O'Brien, the self-taught seamstress said she challenged herself to become an expert at the craft.

"It gave me a wonderful challenge trying to make something complicated," Schlesinger said. "I never thought I would do it and ended up doing that a lot."

O'Brien decided to retire in 2008, an opportunity which allowed Schlesinger to purchase the store and continue building a loyal base of customers.

"I can usually tell what is good for a particular person and so people trust me," Schlesinger said. "This particular lady visits at least once a year. She buys everything she wants to wear here for the whole year. She said she used to be happy shopping in her big city, but after she discovered this store she said that everything else was so boring. So she waits to come here. That kind of thing gives me wonderful satisfaction."

When asked by The Press if there was anyone in particular she would like to thank for their patronage, Schlesinger said it would be impossible to do.

"There's just so many wonderful people I've met," she said. "So many people that have started as a customer and became really close friends."