Stacey Price, owner of Encore Artful Gifts in Radford

RADFORD -- For a decade, Stacey Price has been a familiar face to the shoppers of Encore Artful Gifts.

Price started working at the downtown Radford store as a graduate student. When former owner Carolee Bondurant decided to sell the store six years ago, Price quit her job in public relations and bought it.

Now Price has come full circle -- six years almost to the day she decided to buy the store, she said -- and is also looking to sell the business.

"I'm a firm believer that you should only do something you love," she said. "It's not about the business, it's about me."

Price said the idea of selling Encore has been on her mind for about a year, and she said this year's national retail slump doesn't have anything to do with it.

"If this year had been good, I would still feel this way," she said. "It may seem sudden to some, but back in January I started researching online how to sell your business."

Price said if she doesn't hear from an interested buyer by Jan. 1, she will explore other options, including closing the store.

"I'm not saying we're closing on Jan. 1, but that's the day I will announce the decision to close if we haven't had any interest," Price said.

Although disappointed, the announcement didn't seem sudden to Charlotte Shrewsbury of Christian Travel, Encore's next-door neighbor.

"Anytime you're losing a Main Street business, it's sad," Shrewsbury said. "But we could tell for a while that her heart wasn't in it."

Shrewsbury said she always liked Encore because it was a "classy" business that had a longtime presence in the city.

The store was opened in 1990 by Bondurant, who owned the building -- called the Norwood Center at the time -- with her late husband, Ken Bondurant. The couple donated the building to Radford University in 1997. The building is now called the Bondurant Center for the Arts.

Price said the decision to sell was a hard one, partly because the store is such as large part of the community and partly because it's been such a large part of her life.

"Every item in this store is picked by me and placed by me," Price said. "This store is me. But then, six years ago, this store was Carolee, so someone else could come in and have the same overall concept -- still the most unique, artful gifts in the area."

Because of the store's location, people are always stopping by for information -- from directions to gossip -- and the store is often the site of social events, such as knitting classes and chamber of commerce mixers.

Price said she already has an idea of who she would like to see buy the store.

"It needs to be somebody enthusiastic, who wants to be an active part of the community," Price said. "We need me from five years ago."

Price said she will still offer custom invitation design from her home after she is no longer at the store.