This month the Brentwood Village Chamber is launching a Summer Kick-Off on June 14. The event will feature flamenco dancers, giving lessons; face-painting, tarot card reading, kettlekorn and a prizes for those who visit all the sites on the event’s map. “This way, we will be showcasing all of the businesses so no one will be missed,†said Jennifer Turchen, president of the Brentwood Village Chamber of Commerce.
Jennifer Wenger-Turchen owns Jennifer Knits, a bustling shop tucked in the middle of Brentwood Village. Her store is stuffed floor-to-ceiling with fine yarns of all descriptions. The shop buzzes with feminine energy, intense creative forces, and vibrant colors and textures. When the door opens at 11 a.m., two customers are waiting outside with bags full of yarn. It’s the positive, vibrant energy that Turchen emits when she talks of her role in the Brentwood Village Chamber of Commerce.
Turchen opened her shop eight years ago and was elected as chamber president in July 2007. She ran a campaign based on the preservation of the parking at the VA property across Barrington Place, which services Brentwood Village. “The rumor mill was that they were going to raise our rates,†she said. The lot, with 350 spaces, provides validated parking for the area. Within a month she had secured assurances that the parking was safe. “That was definitely a threat. Waxman’s office could not have been more accommodating,†she gushed.
There are 120 businesses in Brentwood Village, said Turchen. The Brentwood Village has 65% membership.
A mother of three, this entrepreneur leased the property in 2000 for five years with a 15-year option. And though her intentions were already clear, she underlined them when her husband, Arnold Turchen, purchased Hardwear, a fine jewelry store, adjacent to Jennifer Knits, three years ago.
“Some of these businesses have been here 30 years. This is a great community and Brentwood Village is a prime location for West Los Angeles,†she said.
Jennifer Knits is a gathering place where women meet to share their projects, their skills and their hearts. “This is my passion. I love what knitting does for women. I love bringing women together.†In her shop, bustling with activity, women come together and relax. “I joke that we do a public service here. We take some of the most stressed out women in Los Angeles and help them relax,†says Turchen.
In her tenure as president of the chamber, she has tried to bring her infectious sense of community to all the businesses around her. Community for Turchen is crucial. To that end she is setting up a website (www.brentwoodvillage.org) and creating a directory, so that members have something of value for their membership.
“My vision is that every store will stay non-corporate, and we’ll cater to parents and grand-parents,†she says, pointing out that the Village is full of unique small businesses.
