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Community Corner

La Bella Luce Hosts Antique Market in Clifton

Owner of local antique chandelier shop shines a light on the travails and rewards of home design

Today and Sunday, Clifton's chandelier and antique store, La Bella Luce will host a traditional Italian mercantino.

Open to the public at no charge, the market is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the area adjacent to the store at 7137 Main Street in Clifton. It will feature artists, interior designers, an antique dealer and rug vendor. 

Italian for "beautiful light," La Bella Luce opened just over a year ago on Clifton's Main Street.  According to owner Aly Rohling, her business is much more that a shop. 

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“It's a destination and an opportunity for local artists, interior design professionals and customers to network," Rohling said.  

Rohling said she hopes to "empower clients to make their home a sanctuary; to shine a light on the design process.  Everybody faces challenges in decorating and entertaining."

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This interior designer, writer, teacher, world traveler mother and former U.S. Army paratrooper seems to know plenty about both. 

A likely reflection of its owner's outgoing and dynamic personality, La Bella Luce is a very social venture. Rohling hosts monthly receptions that feature the work of local artists. May's artist is Clifton resident and painter, Richard Russo.

Monthly interior design seminars offer locals a chance to converse and learn, while browsing the shop's distinctive European merchandise. Rohling said her passion for interior design was in part the result of her experience as a military wife. 

She said moving every two years forced her to reinvent myself and constantly reconsider how her home would best serve her family's needs. 

She began seriously pursuing her passion for design at the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001.  As friends and their spouses were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, Rohling helped with decorating projects and teaching them to "use what they had to make their homes fresh and pretty."  This was a way to help ease concern for family members and remain positive throughout extended deployments. 

"It made friends' homecomings a happy event," Rohling said. 

Eventually, Rohling began offering professional design consultations.

Recently, a single Army captain stationed abroad mailed her a key and a budget and asked her team to overhaul his quarters for his return stateside. 

Rohling and her team accepted the challenge, revamping every inch of her client's residence, right down to the bathroom towels and candles.  She even stocked his refrigerator with beer, steak and a welcome cake.

Rohling looked forward to being present for the officer's return, but ultimately could not, as her husband returned from his own deployment the same day.

The family will redeploy next month, when husband Andy, a U.S. Army Colonel assumes a two year Brigade Command near Venice, Italy.  While this might sound unusual for the owner of a fledgling stateside business, it is all part of her master plan. 

She said she will use the time in Italy "to hunt for unique treasures."  Clients are encouraged to forward specific item requests that she plans to discover and ship stateside. 

"Think of it as your own personal shopper in Italy," she said. 

Two interior designers will continue to manage La Bella Luce and provide design consultations.

In addition to teaching command leadership classes to members of the U.S. Marine Corps and their spouses, Rohling is in the process of writing co-authoring two books.  One is a coffee table book "with lots of pictures about decorating and entertaining."  The second is being co-authored with the wife of a two star Army general and will focus on the finer points of military protocol. 

La Bella Luce is located at 7137 Main Street in Clifton. More information on store hours and merchandise is available at www.labellaluceimports.com

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