Merrilee Ekstrom is co-owner with James Niebling of Vetro.

Merrilee Ekstrom opened the Vetro glass gallery on Kettner Boulevard with partner James Niebling last April, joining more than 15 other art and design-based businesses who were attracted to the area during the year. In January, she was named president of the new Kettner Art & Design District, an organization of shops and galleries that seeks to add to the charm of Little Italy with their products and public events.

“My hope for the district is to complement the established community of Little Italy by highlighting art and design in the neighborhood shops and galleries,” says Ekstrom, who brings 20 years of retail experience to her business. “We are building bustling businesses.”

The infusion of new commercial and residential development in Little Italy drew Ekstrom and Niebling to the neighborhood, where they launched Vetro at 1760 Kettner Blvd. “There is an enormous opportunity to convert old industrial spaces into public-friendly venues,” Ekstrom says. “A ton of real estate development is happening now and in the next few years. These old and new spaces are prime opportunities for the art and design community. I can see this neighborhood developing into something similar to SOHO in New York.”

Besides Vetro, other founding members of the design district are Scott White Contemporary Art, the David Zapf Gallery, Adorn, Zazou Home, Esteben Interiors and Mixture. In January, the district put together the first “Kettner Nights,” where the public strolled the street in a progressive visit to shops and galleries after normal business hours. It drew more than 1,500 visitors. KADD has scheduled five more of these events this year. The next two are March 4 and April 22. All of the 6-9 p.m. events begin on Kettner, between Laurel and Date streets. Each participating business will feature works by designers and artists. Shoppers can purchase art, home decor and gifts along the way. KADD will provide beverages and hors d’oeuvres.

Vetro (the Italian word for glass) fits nicely into the character of the street. The gallery holds about 500 pieces of vintage hand-blown glass that have been collected from around the world. They are arranged by color and cost from below $100 to about $3,000. About 200 of the works started out as the personal collection of Niebling, who was the v.p. of women’s and children’s apparel at Polo Ralph Lauren in New York City. Ekstrom also worked for the company, but in San Diego as its senior director of stores for the western region. They both left last year to go into business for themselves.

“The first piece of the collection is an Italian decanter with optic lines that resembles a chess piece,” says Ekstrom. “James purchased it in a shop in New York. The proprietor tried to convince him to purchase the second piece, as they looked fantastic as a set. James resisted on the first visit, but before long the mate was added.”

Niebling is a member of the Blenko Collectors Society, named after the Blenko Glass Co. in Milton, W.Va. “James has mentored me in the love of this art form,” Ekstrom says. “My personal collection is small, but contains Blenko glass. We both firmly believe that ‘glass loves glass,’ an old ad campaign for Blenko Glass Co.”

— Manny Cruz