Salon space changes hands; Namaska moves
Soltice Simple 'Soul'utions, a Nine Mile Falls-based company, has taken over operation of the Karmony beauty salon at 3810 N. Monroe, but has retained the Karmony name, says owner Stacey Takaoka-Stanfield.

Since last spring, Takaoka-Stanfield, a nail technician, has rented space in the salon, which had been operated by Spokane-based Karmony Inc. Solstice leased the entire space in September after Karmony Inc.'s owner left, Takaoka-Stanfield says.

"Our businesses were doing good, and we didn't want to leave the location," referring to herself and other independent contractors there, she says.

Karmony houses several independent contractors who offer beauty services, including manicures, pedicures, massages, facials, and waxing. The business also is adding two hair stations to add styling services to its offerings.

Takaoka-Stanfield started Solstice about five years ago as a home-based business that makes and sells homemade soaps, lotions, bath salts, and candles. Currently, she sells the products at her retail location.

Jim Orcutt, of NAI Black handled Soltice's lease of the space.

Meanwhile, Namaska, a Spokane-based bookstore owned by Barb Rathbun that also sells teas and other items, has taken space in the salon, Takaoka-Stanfield says. It previously had operated at 421 W. First. The move marks a return to Monroe Street for the business, which formerly was called The Open Door.

Tometa Software's former owners start software concern
Gravity Jack Inc., a new software-development company, has opened in a 1,500-square-foot leased space in the TierPoint building, at 23403 E. Mission, in Liberty Lake, and is off to a running start.

The company, which officially began doing business there Nov. 1, provides software development—from iPhone applications to bank Web sites—to small and large businesses in a variety of industries, says CEO Jennifer Richey.

"People can come to us with any hare-brained idea, and we can make it happen," she says.

Thanks to venture capital it received, Gravity Jack employs seven people, works with more than 100 freelancers worldwide, and estimates it will have revenues of about $1.5 million in its first year, Richey says.

Gravity Jack also is developing a "groundbreaking" new product that it hopes to make public during the first quarter of 2010, she says.

From 2001 to 2007, Richey and her husband, Luke, owned Spokane Valley-based Tometa Software Inc. Playxpert, a Sandpoint, Idaho-based game developer, bought Tometa's assets, and the Richeys then became employees of that company.

When Luke Richey's employment contract expired, the couple decided to launch Gravity Jack, which is owned by a group of investors, including the Richeys, who are the majority owners. The name is derived from the Richeys' love of skydiving and the name of a family member, Jennifer Richey says.

Marjoni Marketing's two owners to split, pursue other ventures
John Guarisco and Mary Thompson, who own Spokane Valley-based Marjoni Marketing Inc., say they will close the company Dec. 31 and pursue other ventures in the advertising industry.

The four-year-old company has been doing billings of $2 million each year and just reached 500 clients, Thompson says. It is located at 10623 E. Sprague and employs seven people, including the owners.

The separation is an amicable one, Thompson says. "It's all on friendly terms," she says. "The bigger we got, we just weren't spending enough time with our clients. I wanted to get smaller again and more attentive—and go have fun."

Says Guarisco, "She and I are going in different directions (because) she has a good, comfortable base and wants to maintain where she's currently at. I want to grow and explode my business because I have many, many more years of work and life left in me. It's my time to hit my stride."

Thompson plans to launch Mary Mary Marketing and likely will stay in the space on Sprague. While most of her clients are small and medium-sized businesses in Spokane County, she plans to pursue business in the Tri-Cities area. She will be the company's sole employee, she says.

Meanwhile, Guarisco and at least two other Marjoni employees will join Marketing Directors Inc., a Spokane-based agency, at 1618 W. Dean, that does business as MDI Marketing. The move nearly will double MDI's staff.

Mark Keas, president of MDI, says, "With their very unique talents, coupled with the talents we already have in place and the wisdom we have in the 20 years we've been in business, it's going to be a very exciting next-level move for us as a company."

The experience of the new staff members will bolster MDI's ability to assist its clients with interactive Internet-based marketing, he says.

Accountant, lawyer opens his own firm
After 10 years with Spokane accounting firm McDirmid, Mikkelsen & Secrest PS, accountant and lawyer Nicholas Knapton has decided to start his own accounting firm, Nicholas Knapton PS, in 1,600 square feet of leased space at 505 W. Riverside, in Spokane.

"I just turned 31. I thought this would be a good opportunity to go out on my own," Knapton says.

The firm will do business valuations, tax returns, audits, and reviews and provide expert-witness testimony, he says. He plans to hire three employees, either full or part time depending on workload.

Knapton has a master's degree in accounting and a law degree, both from Gonzaga University. He has been renovating his new offices and plans to open there officially on Dec. 10.