Sequim Gazette staff

The latest buzz around town concerns the newly pink building at 128 N. Sequim Ave.

Here’s the scoop: In May, Elizabeth Leblanc purchased the former home of The Buzz from her old friend Deb Ferguson, and in so doing fulfilled a dream she’s had for 17 years — since the day she first walked into the vintage structure, which was built in 1926.

Ferguson also had a second business in the place, BeeDazzled, a gift shop.

Financial difficulties caused Ferguson to close both businesses earlier this year and put the building up for sale.

Leblanc, friends with Ferguson since their days in Anchorage, Alaska, “a long time ago,” snapped it up.

It’s newly pink, says Le-blanc, because “that’s my favorite color. Everyone who knows me knows that.”

Leblanc said she also was shooting for something “that’s not like anything in Sequim.”

She cheerfully admits the reaction has been mixed, with about half of those driving by indicating they love the color and half indicating less enthusiasm.

The new color is just one of the changes taking place. Inside, “We basically gutted the place,” Leblanc said.

She’s working with her ex-husband and good friend Dennis Skan, who also is a partner in the building, to bring it back into pristine condition.

Her philosophy regarding the fixtures is simple: “If it’s vintage, we keep it,” she said.

When that isn’t possible, the replacement will be a fine reproduction of vintage workmanship. That includes the forthcoming introduction of several “huge chandeliers.”

The shiplap hemlock floors are newly exposed and the interior has been painted in multiple pastel hues. Each room will have its own character and its own specific merchandising theme.

That includes a small library with a selection of books, a kitchen shop and one room devoted solely to antiques.

“It’s home decor, gifts and a ‘girly-girl’ store,” Leblanc said.

Much of the inventory will be drawn from her current store, Gardiner Antiques, which is located next to Wild Birds Unlimited on U.S. Highway 101.

The store formerly belonged to her father, Jerry Leblanc, who moved to the area in the mid-1980s.

Elizabeth followed in 2002 to help take care of her parents and became involved in Gardiner Antiques.

Leblanc and Skan plan to have Pieces of Time open by Labor Day weekend — “If I don’t change my mind another hundred times,” Leblanc laughed.

For more information, call Skan at 461-2584.