New businesses opening on Old South Wharf
Hy-Line offices to consolidate
Jessica Hicks has been making jewelry since she was in high school, and now she is about to open Posh, her first retail jewelry shop. Hicks, an island resident for 10 years, describes the style of her pieces as contemporary with a timeless elegance. After graduating from the UMass Darmouth fine arts program with a focus on jewelry and metals, Hicks worked for Nantucket jewelry maker Diana Kim England, then at Jewel of the Isle, all the while perfecting her own craft. When she began working at Vis a Vis, owner Avis (Skinner) Medawar let her sell her pieces in the store.

"She was very supportive with me doing that," said Hicks. "I'll still be selling my jewelry there and at the store on Old South Wharf."

Hicks hopes to open Posh at 18 Old South Wharf by May 17 in time for the Nantucket Wine Festival weekend. She will run the shop in the season until Columbus Day, using the fall and winter months to be with her family, create new pieces in her studio and host trunk shows in various locations.

Other new businesses opening on Old South Wharf include Graficas at number one, an art gallery owned by summer residents Lynette and Alex Mautner, and a bakery at 7 Old South Wharf. Henry Wyner, the Director of Retail Properties for Old South Wharf owner Nantucket Island Resorts, said the bakery will be a second branch of an existing island bakery but because the lease was not finalized by press time he could not divulge the name.

In Straight Wharf business news, the Hy-Line's office for its ferry ticket sales and the company's Island Tours office are merging and will relocate at 34 Straight Wharf, formerly Shoreline Designs, and just a few doors up from the Hy-Line's current addresses. The reason for the move is that the small ticket office is unheated and lacks customer seating space. During the off-season, the operation has had to be incorporated within the Island Tours office across the wharf, a bus tour company owned by the Scudder family who own the Hy-Line. The new location will be year-round and geared to client comfort, according to Murray

Scudder, the Hy-Line's operations manager. I

- Mary Lancaster