Behind the Business: Vita Bella Markets La Belle Vie

Three years ago Janis Jennings Snyder made a decision. She gathered her resources, and on February 29, 2008 opened not one but two businesses in the Kenwood Village Marketplace -- a small shopping center anchored by the Kenwood Market and dotted with vacant retail spaces.

A Kenwood resident, Jennings Snyder had commuted to Marin for several years, doing faux painting and large-scale mural work through her company, Painted Memories. Fond of Marin's Anthropologie-style stores and quality vintage décor, she was frustrated at the lack of similar shops in Sonoma Valley that carried the type of merchandise she desired.

An entrepreneur and a successful businesswoman in the arts field, Jennings Snyder was confident that she could fill the missing niche in the Kenwood, Glen Ellen region. “I wanted to create a place that had a sense of anticipation and adventure, and offered a selection of furnishings and clothing that was not currently available to the community,” said Jennings Snyder. And thus her stores Vita Bella and Vita Bella Armoire were born.

Initially the two stores were in separate spaces -- then, in a shift to accommodate the growing business, Jennings Snyder took over an adjacent space and combined the stores under one roof. Calling upon her background in theater and art, and her experience in staging homes, she used the furniture and fixtures to design an ever-changing tableau of “vignettes,” or mini-environments that are arranged to tell a story and inspire customers with new ideas for their own homes. “The displays don’t highlight the products so much as they set a mood and give a context to the merchandise,” said Jennings Snyder.

During the three years since Vita Bella was launched, two new wine tasting rooms have opened in the Marketplace—Muscardini & Ty Caton and Enkidu, enlivening the center and creating a more diverse flow of traffic. The inner courtyard is filled with bright flowers and a playful stone fountain. The restaurant Doce Lunas has continued to build on its local following and draws the winery visitors as well. Each enterprise has benefited from being part of a “critical mass” of attractions and activities.

For Vita Bella, the intermingling of antique and new furniture, home and garden décor with women’s clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry and “must-have” accessories proved so popular that Jennings Snyder once again found her shop bursting at the seams in 2010. Fortuitously, a large office across the courtyard became available at the beginning of 2011, and in the optimistic spirit of the true entrepreneur, she jumped at the chance to acquire it.

Once again, saws are buzzing, paint is drying and the dizzying countdown to opening the doors has begun. According to Jennings Snyder, this move will allow the new location to showcase home and garden furniture and complimentary products from linens to lamps.  The concept connects an urban vibe with the wine country lifestyle in an imaginative new aesthetic, conveyed, as Jennings Snyder says, with “quality, humor and a little whimsy.” The shop will retain the name Vita Bella.

The original store will be renamed Belle Vie, an "oasis of offhand sophistication" where the emphasis will be on a curated assortment of merchandise: fashion-forward clothing for women along with laid-back staples and ethnic accents, fun and flirty shoes and handbags, handmade jewelry from local artisans and fragrance lines, soaps and candles.

Far from daunted by her new undertaking, Jennings Snyder is exhilarated by the prospect of developing a new enterprise, and her enthusiasm perhaps sums up the spirit of the entrepreneur. “I’ve always thrived on doing something innovative that I feel has a positive benefit to the community,” she said. “I like the independence and having my vision come to fruition in a hands-on way. It’s a great feeling of satisfaction.”

Vita Bella celebrated its third anniversary on Saturday, March 5 with a fashion show, open house and “hard hat” tour of the new addition.