Janice Winterboer, owner of Twigs at 222 Broad St., has been an interior designer for almost 30 years. (Doug Walker / Rome News-Tribune)
Winterboer, who has been an interior design specialist since 1984, considers herself a Francophile when it comes to her favorite design style. “I love everything French. I was in France and England for awhile. I use to bring antiques back from Europe when I worked for Wyatt’s,” Winterboer said. She said that Patti Brown, a longtime designer for Wyatt’s, was her mentor in the industry.
Winterboer specialized in European antiques when she ran Antiques and Interiors on Second Avenue a number of years ago.
She got out of the retail sector for awhile, but continued to operate her interior design business out of her home.
“I decided to bring it up a notch and opened the store at 6 E. Third Ave. Then we outgrew that space and moved to Broad Street, the former Roman Rose Antique store,” Winterboer said. “We do floral design as well.”
She employs another designer along with a general retail assistant at Twigs.
Twigs, by the way, is a French Canadian wallpaper company. Winterboer chose the name for her business because she loved their wallpaper designs. “I do a lot of floral design so I just chose Twigs. It seemed to fit,” she said.
While interior design work constitutes the overwhelming majority of her business, an estimated 85 percent, Winterboer said interest in floral design work has really started picking up since she moved to the Broad Street location. “We’ve done weddings, funerals and parties,” Winterboer said. “We’ll help them get ready for any kind of event.” Last year, she designed a couple of tents for participants at the annual Atlanta Steeplechase.
When the Roman Rose announced that it was going to close, Winterboer wasted no time at all in making the decision to move. She credits the visibility on Broad Street and the increased foot traffic, particularly in the busy 200 block, with helping the business grow nicely over the course of the past year.
Moving into a longtime antique shop also helped with a little continuity among visitors, but don’t expect a cluttered extravagance of “stuff.” She doesn’t stock “stuff.” When buying antiques, Winterboer said she never picks up something at random. “You wouldn’t buy on a whim. They’re just too expensive,” Winterboer said. “You have reputable dealers that you go to. You need to know who you’re dealing with.” She said it’s also very important to make sure you know if it’s a reproduction or a real antique.
Just recently, Winterboer acquired a $12,000 French mirror for a client in Dunwoody. Obviously her client list expands well beyond Rome, and her list of vendors stretches from New York to Los Angeles to Paris and Rome, Italy.
Twigs is a mixture of exquisite antiques and much more.
“It’s lamps, gifts. We sell upholstery, rugs, anything for your home,” Winterboer said. She is particularly proud of her vast assortment of lamps, which she says can make a room.
Whether it’s an antique or fabric sample for re-upholstering that special piece of furniture, Winterboer’s slogan, “Affordability never looked so good,” seems to be on the mark.
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