A sign behind the cash register at The Fur Traders in Nevada City advises shoppers, “Your husband called. He said you can buy whatever you want.”
In few other stores is such an advisory so dangerous.
The Fur Traders' three businesses along Broad Street sell everything from fuzzy pink angora sweaters to full-length mink coats costing $10,000.
The best sellers?
“Whatever's the softest,” said co-owner Marjie Costello, who has a number of fur coats in her closet. Sheared beaver is one of her favorite furs.
Costello and her husband, Barry, have done business on historic Broad Street since 1979, but their fondness for fur sparked long before that.
Barry Costello is the fourth generation in a family of Chicago-based fur traders. He tried to escape the profession with an 11-year stint in corporate consulting, but he eventually warmed up to the industry of his youth.
The couple's first ventures were stores in Aspen, Colo., Hawaii and Lake Tahoe. A smattering of summer satellite stores near Yellowstone National Park got extra help from a larger-than-life marketing tool named “Da Bear.”
Yes, it was a live, 400-pound brown bear that rode in the back of Barry Costello's pickup while he restocked his chain of stores. Occasionally, the Costellos got into playful wrestling matches with him.
That alarmed onlookers, Marjie Costello said, but it also provided excellent photo opportunities and ample business.
Eventually, they opened operations in Nevada City. Their trio of stores is stocked with a highly touchable inventory of silky fur stoles, Western wear, boots and cozy, fur-cuffed slippers.
The Fur Traders draws about 70 percent of its business locally, but it also attracts a number of out-of-town fur enthusiasts.
In spite of a bruising nationwide recession, the Costellos are keeping the stores afloat. On Friday afternoon, Marjie was training new employees for the Christmas season — a hot time for the fur business.
She has a theory as to why pelts still sell in a puttering economy.
“People want stuff that makes them feel good and lasts forever,” she said.
While fur is certainly durable, questions do arise about its environmental impact. Marjie Costello said her store doesn't suffer from negative public opinion now, though it has had run-ins with animal rights activists in the past.
Those had a reverse effect, she said.
“When we were protested 15 years ago, it tripled our business,” she said.
Marjie Costello described fur as one of the most natural and sustainable products, and she calls herself an environmentalist.
The Costellos no longer own Da Bear, or their out-of-town shops, but Marjie said she's happy anchoring her operations from the stately brick storefront that once was a historic hotel.
“It's paradise,” she said. “It's not to be beat.”
When she's not minding the business, Marjie said she enjoys taking pack-mule trips into the mountains. “You can't talk business when you're up there,” she said.
mrindels@theunion.com or (530) 477-4247.
In few other stores is such an advisory so dangerous.
The Fur Traders' three businesses along Broad Street sell everything from fuzzy pink angora sweaters to full-length mink coats costing $10,000.
The best sellers?
“Whatever's the softest,” said co-owner Marjie Costello, who has a number of fur coats in her closet. Sheared beaver is one of her favorite furs.
Costello and her husband, Barry, have done business on historic Broad Street since 1979, but their fondness for fur sparked long before that.
Barry Costello is the fourth generation in a family of Chicago-based fur traders. He tried to escape the profession with an 11-year stint in corporate consulting, but he eventually warmed up to the industry of his youth.
The couple's first ventures were stores in Aspen, Colo., Hawaii and Lake Tahoe. A smattering of summer satellite stores near Yellowstone National Park got extra help from a larger-than-life marketing tool named “Da Bear.”
Yes, it was a live, 400-pound brown bear that rode in the back of Barry Costello's pickup while he restocked his chain of stores. Occasionally, the Costellos got into playful wrestling matches with him.
That alarmed onlookers, Marjie Costello said, but it also provided excellent photo opportunities and ample business.
Eventually, they opened operations in Nevada City. Their trio of stores is stocked with a highly touchable inventory of silky fur stoles, Western wear, boots and cozy, fur-cuffed slippers.
The Fur Traders draws about 70 percent of its business locally, but it also attracts a number of out-of-town fur enthusiasts.
In spite of a bruising nationwide recession, the Costellos are keeping the stores afloat. On Friday afternoon, Marjie was training new employees for the Christmas season — a hot time for the fur business.
She has a theory as to why pelts still sell in a puttering economy.
“People want stuff that makes them feel good and lasts forever,” she said.
While fur is certainly durable, questions do arise about its environmental impact. Marjie Costello said her store doesn't suffer from negative public opinion now, though it has had run-ins with animal rights activists in the past.
Those had a reverse effect, she said.
“When we were protested 15 years ago, it tripled our business,” she said.
Marjie Costello described fur as one of the most natural and sustainable products, and she calls herself an environmentalist.
The Costellos no longer own Da Bear, or their out-of-town shops, but Marjie said she's happy anchoring her operations from the stately brick storefront that once was a historic hotel.
“It's paradise,” she said. “It's not to be beat.”
When she's not minding the business, Marjie said she enjoys taking pack-mule trips into the mountains. “You can't talk business when you're up there,” she said.
mrindels@theunion.com or (530) 477-4247.
PLEASE SEND THIS ARROGANT FUR TRADER AN EMAIL, OR GIVE HER A PHONE CALL..(530)265-3300 OR (530)265-2000 www.furtraders.com info@furtraders.com <info@furtraders.com>
