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Mechelle Lindenberg got a taste of the entrepreneurial retail world a decade ago when she opened a furniture store.

And she knew one day she wanted to return to the register. She even stashed potential merchandise in a corner of her home for the resale shop she dreamed of opening.

Her dreams became reality this summer when Lindenberg and her business partner, Lana Kuseybi, opened Couture Decor Resell Shoppe near Guilford College.

A consignment store, the shop carries a mix of women's clothing and accessories, home accessories and small furniture. Quite a few of the items for sale haven't been worn, Kuseybi said.

"We like designer names, but we don't want to get stuck on that," Lindenberg said. "We're looking for if it has the look that it came from a boutique or Nordstrom."

And because the goods are consigned, that means someone may be able to score a Gucci look without the price tag.

"People who know good brands don't need to always go and spend a fortune on it," Kuseybi said.

Other brands in the store include designer labels such as Valentino, St. John and Calvin Klein. The store also carries custom furniture and fabrics suitable for clothing, accent pieces or upholstery.

Couture Decor, at 603-C Milner Drive in Greensboro, is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Anthropologie coming to Friendly Center

Hip women's boutique Anthropologie is coming to Friendly Center, the chain's first North Carolina location outside Charlotte.

The store, which carries women's clothing, accessories and home decor with a bohemian air, will be next to the planned Williams-Sonoma store. It's scheduled to open in January or February.

For the love of free

If you've read this column for a while, one thing is clear: I love a good deal.

So a recent article by Yahoo Finance and Kiplinger.com highlighting great freebies caught my attention.

Some of their free highlights are things many folks enjoy, such as using the public library, public Wi-Fi and free e-mail service (nothing beats Gmail in my book).

In the spirit of sharing great free things, I thought I'd add some of my favorites to the list:

• Whether your musical tastes include Miles Davis, Michael Jackson or the Mississippi Mass Choir, you can probably find a station on www.pandora.com to fit the bill. Pandora.com is a type of online radio jukebox. Input the name of a song, singer or musical genre you like and it will select similar tunes for your listening pleasure. The site also allows you to fine-tune your stations when you indicate if you like the chosen song or not.
• On a quest to lose weight? Experts recommend keeping a food diary as a way to track what you nosh on throughout the day. But keeping track with pen and paper is so 20th century. Instead, check out www.thedailyplate.com, a Web site that allows you to input your food choices and get a running tally of how many calories you've consumed.
• Add this number to your phone: 1-800-466-4411. In vanity numbers, that translates to 1-800-GOOG-411, the free 411 service run by Google. But there is a drawback: The service doesn't find numbers for personal residences, only information on businesses or a category search, such as pizza delivery restaurants.

Know of other fabulous freebies?

Feel free to post them to the Bargain Blog at news-record.com.

Savvy Shoppers unite at the Bargain Blog at news-record.com. Do you have retail news? Contact Lanita Withers at 373-7071 or e-mail lanita.withers@news-record.com.