BUSINESS BRIEFINGS

Men’s clothing store to open

Men’s clothing store to open

Afshan Tabazadeh, who opened a women’s boutique on Bainbridge Island two years ago, is launching a men’s clothing store in the Winslow Way space recently vacated by Bad Blanch’s furniture store at the end of April.

Zia for Men is expected to open its doors during the first week of July, Tabazadeh said, with a grand opening scheduled for late July.

She is the owner and operator of Zia, a fashion boutique now located in Winslow Green, and formerly located in the Pavilion shopping center.

The men’s store will offer affordable casual dress for men, including lines by Levi’s, Calvin Klein and Lucky. Tabazadeh said additional inventory may be added later, including shoes.

Two existing Winslow stores, Indulgence Bed and Bath and Bagatelle Antiques, are moving to share the space formerly occupied by Bad Blanche, which had been a fixture on Winslow Way for 28 years.

Fitness studio to focus on personal

Ubbe Liljeblad, a Bainbridge Island fitness trainer for several years, has opened a private training studio that focuses on hypnotherapy, healthy weight loss through exercise and customized exercise programs for athletes of all ages.

The new fitness studio, located at 9445 Business Park Lane, offers a variety of personal fitness experiences ranging from an eight-week workout class to individual drop-in sessions.

The studio features a 600-square-foot space with a bamboo floor and natural light, plus a small counseling office for hypnotherapy and coaching in the new Hatletveit Building in the Sportsman Park business complex.

For an appointment or more information about the studio, call 780-8408.

McCloud receives lawyers’ award

Sheryl Gordon McCloud, a Bainbridge Island resident who practices criminal law in Seattle, has received the 2008 William O. Douglas Award, which is presented annually in June by the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

McCloud, who worked as a public defender in Seattle before opening a solo practice in 1989, now focuses her attentions on appellate and post-conviction cases. Among her well-known clients are Brian Lord, Michael Roberts, Christopher Orange, James Moran and William VanDelft.

McCloud has served the WACDL in many capacities, including as a board member. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Seattle University School of Law.

She lives on the island with her husband and two sons.

77 BGI students to graduate Sunday

Bainbridge Graduate Institute’s fourth graduating class will be it’s largest by far as 77 people who attended the school, which emphasizes sustainable business, will graduate Sunday at Kiana Lodge.

The graduating class will include 48 MBAs, 24 with certificates in sustainable business and five certificates in entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. The first graduating class in 2004 had three graduates and 12 earned certificates in 2005. Enrollment in 2008 reached 200 students.

Sunday’s commencement address will be given by Van Jones, co-founder of the Ella Baker Center and founder and president of Green for All, based in Oakland, Calif. Jones’ goal is to help build an inclusive, green economy in the United States.

BGI was founded in 2002 by Elizabeth and Gifford Pinchot, Jill Bamburg and Dr. Sherman Severin with the goal of offering students classes in sustainable innovation and management training.