Shop Talk: The ins and outs of Berkeley businesses

NEW: GALLERY OF FINE ARTS Yves Mozelsio has just opened YJM Photography and Gallery of Fine Arts at 1865 Solano Ave. (a few doors west of the Oaks Theater in the former KNA Copy Center). Monday was the first day for the gallery which, Mozelsio says, he opened as a way to provide people with an alternative to online shopping, as well as a space for him to continue practicing his photography (a third of the space is devoted to his photography studio). The gallery has a lovely turn-of-the-century style décor, with Mozelsio’s personal collection of European paintings (dating from 1850-1950) on the walls. The gallery sells paintings by local artists and Mozelsio himself, sculptures by Mozelsio’s uncle, and 11 Queen Anne-style cases of jewelry, mostly silver, crafted by local jewelers. “This is a dream space for me,” said Mozelsio shortly after he made his first sale of a bracelet to his first customer. He said he hoped he has created a feel-good environment for people to enjoy, surrounded by wonderful art. He is happy to hear from local artists who might want to collaborate. Connect with YJM Photography on Facebook.

ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER In case you missed it, the North Cities One Stop Career Center now has a location inside the Berkeley Adult School (and also has another site at the College of Alameda). A federally funded free career center with a lot of great job-seeking and career counseling services available for residents of Berkeley and nearby, the center also works with local employers to help them fill their hiring needs by referring them to qualified candidates. The Berkeley Adult School is at 1701 San Pablo Ave. For more info, including hours, visit the North Cities One Stop Career Center online.

LITTLE GEM BELGIAN WAFFLES Now in soft opening on Telegraph Avenue is Little Gem Belgian Waffles (tipped by Nosh in October), “an authentic, handcrafted Belgian Liège waffle shop.” It offers “crispy and gooey fresh-off-the-iron waffles,” and you can choose toppings such as Nutella and preserves. Little Gem Belgian Waffles is at 2468-A Telegraph Ave. (at Haste Street). Connect with the restaurant on Facebook.

M&M THREAD SALON M&M Thread Salon has opened a new location on Durant Avenue. This local Bay Area chain, founded in Berkeley in 2007, offers threading, a hair-removal technique popular in India and the Middle East, as well as waxing and facials. M&M Thread Salon, which also has branches in San Francisco and Walnut Creek among others, is at 2432 Durant (at Telegraph).

WE CARE SOLAR: MOVE Berkeley-founded We Care Solar is moving into the David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley. We Care Solar, which promotes safe motherhood and reducing maternal mortality in developing regions by providing hospitals and health clinics with reliable solar electricity, was launched by Laura E. Stachel and Hal Aronson in their Berkeley garage in 2008. Since then the organization, which was based at the Blum Center on the UC Berkeley campus, has won plaudits from CNN — Stachel was named a CNN Hero — and won the first United Nations DESA “Powering the Future We Want” award worth $1 million. Read more about We Care Solar on Berkeleyside.

GREEN CITIZEN: CLOSED Berkeley’s branch of electronics recycling center Green Citizen, at 1971 Shattuck Ave., has closed. The center says the closure was due to the enormous rise in the cost of recycling electronics. As it writes on its website: “Since January, 2015, the cost of recycling has gone up by 800%… Due to the crash of global commodity metal and plastic prices, steel has dropped from $.12 per pound to less than $.01, and oil went from $150 per barrel to less than $50 a barrel. It is  now cheaper to make new products out of virgin plastic versus using recycled plastic… We are required to reduce our center operations and have closed this Eco-Center. Please visit our Burlingame Center to drop off your electronics. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.”

Shop Talk is our regular column in which we post updates on Berkeley businesses. If you’re a Berkeley business with news, or a Berkeleysider who has spotted a change in your neighborhood or on your travels, shoot us an email with the details. Read previous Shop Talk columns, and check out Bites for the latest East Bay restaurant news.