Niche Biz: Gold Violin
Connie Hallquist’s search for a well-designed, stylish, one-of-a-kind gift for her 87-year-old grandmother led her to start her first retail venture — Gold Violin, an online and catalog shop that specializes in products for older people.
“My grandmother had mobility challenges and I wanted to get her a nice hand-painted cane,” said Hallquist. All she could find was a basic utilitarian cane, which wasn’t going to do the trick. “I ended up painting one myself. And that was the seed for Gold Violin.”
“I’ve always been fascinated by start-ups,” she said. “I’m always looking for a demographic that’s not being served. The senior market is totally under-addressed by retailers.”
When she launched Gold Violin in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2000, the site featured 180 products for people with mobility problems, poor vision, and hearing impairments, including computer keyboards with enlarged keys, ergonomic kitchen tools, and, of course, stylish canes. The site now features about 300 items, including body brushes, a gravity pepper mill, and sugar-free chocolates.
Photo by Manuel W..
Zebra on January 7th, 2007 10:07 am
Very, very clever!
Thank you for giving information about Gold Violin, a very smart concept. I hope they become very successful!
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