By Niki Sepsas
Inspiration sometimes comes to us at the most unexpected moments and in the least likely places. For Barri Thompson, the epiphany that highlighted the career path she was destined to follow arrived late one afternoon as she was enjoying the view from the deck of her home at Highland Lakes.
Thompson decided that a totally unique, almost quirky, home furnishings gallery would be the gateway to her dreams. It would prove to be a new and exciting journey. The Homewood native had graduated from UAB and taught special education for six years before deciding to enter the business world. Along with Dana Guthrie, a close friend, she had opened a home organizing and decorating service that the two women ran from their homes.
“Dana and I launched Space Therapy in 2001,” Thompson relates.
“She had a great sense of running a business and my strengths were in the design end of it. In response to the many requests I was getting from people who wanted my assistance in the design and décor of their home furnishings, I decided to look around for space where I could open my own gallery. I wanted to bring the design ideas of my customers to life.”
That search led Thompson to the corner of Third Avenue and 29th Street South in the heart of the Pepper Place complex, which has developed in recent years into Birmingham’s design district. She leased 1,700 square feet of space for her new venture, which she would christen Atmosphere Home Essentials.
“I toyed with a number of names for the business,” she explains, “and felt that this one best conveyed the message of what I wanted this place to be. Space Therapy had given me a great deal of experience with offering personal consultations to clients, and I felt I had always had a bit of an eye for design. I also knew I wanted to get a stronger background in the many aspects of home decorating—the psychology of colors, lighting and the arrangement of furniture.”
Thompson enrolled at Virginia College, where she acquired that special training. She opened Atmosphere Home Essentials in April 2005.
“I looked at several other sites, but felt that the Pepper Place location would be the best for me,” she states.
“Besides being in the heart of the city’s design district, the area is part of the revitalization effort taking place on Birmingham’s Southside. There is a great energy here with lots of creative people and unique businesses and services. I love being part of that.
I even sold my home at Highland Lakes and moved to the Crestwood area because that neighborhood is going through a similar transformation. It’s great to be so close to my business.”
Thompson admits to a certain amount of anxiety in suddenly being the sole proprietor of a start-up, female-owned business. Did she have enough contacts to get her new venture off the ground? Would shoppers be in the market for the unique, notseen- everywhere-else items that would identify Atmosphere Home Essentials?
Four years after her grand opening, Thompson happily answers yes to both questions. The hundreds of customers who have visited her gallery have been dazzled by the eclectic mix of accent pieces and furnishings she offers. Homeowners and renters alike have shopped from Thompson’s selection of special lighting effects, rugs, lamps, tables, candles, accent pillows and the myriad other items that accentuate and personally identify the place they call home.
“I believe that a person’s home is the truest expression of themselves,” Thompson states. “Your home is your sanctuary, your safe place. My goal here has been to offer top-to-bottom decorating services. Whether it’s a complete makeover or a few small touches, I help people select just the right items to provide the look they want. I carry a wide assortment of furnishings that you don’t find at all the big stores. I make a number of buying trips each year to find the latest items that I personally select from among more than 200 suppliers that I work with. I also offer custom-made pieces crafted by local artisans to create a truly unique look.”
The visitor to the Atmosphere Home Essentials showroom first notices the bright, airy feel of the room that is amplified even further by Thompson’s own dazzling smile.
When not personally greeting guests herself, she relies on the capable services of Elizabeth McGuire, her “right hand,” and a design student at the University of Alabama.
Thompson continues to spend much of her time offering personal consultations at a client’s home.
Seeing a particular room, she notes, helps her get a better feel for how a certain piece would work in a specific location. “I get an idea of the available lighting in a room and the color schemes that I feel would work best there,” Thompson adds. “I try to place the right lamp or table or pillow in what I feel would be the most effective setting.” The personal consultations also help her maintain a close professional relationship with the people who trust her to provide the right furnishings to accent a home.
“One of the great pleasures this business affords me is the number of wonderful friends I have made,” Thompson notes, again flashing her toothpaste commercial smile. “Many people who began as my clients are now close friends.”
Thompson is justifiably proud of what she has accomplished in three short years at Atmosphere Home Essentials. Simply surviving during lean economic times is an accomplishment in itself that becomes even more impressive in light of recent statistics indicating that upwards of 80 percent of new small businesses close in their first year of operation. To have weathered the storm and emerged even stronger is especially gratifying.
“I never had a ‘fall back’ plan,” Thompson states. “I opened this business knowing that I alone was responsible for supporting myself. I’m always listening, learning and striving to make this business better. I enjoy hosting periodic art shows here for the networking opportunities they provide and to showcase the work of local artists. It’s great to be part of the revitalization efforts of this city. I want Atmosphere Home Essentials to be the name people think of for those hip, quirky, unique items that personalize a home.”
