Designer Nate Berkus pronounces brand new boutique top shelf

Week Two of business at 50th & France's Ladyslipper boutique cannot possibly surpass the first-week thrill of a surprise visit from Nate Berkus.

"And it was the best day ever, because he's the cutest boy ever and the nicest in the world," co-owner Amanda Rose said Thursday.

Rose, who owns the shoes and accessories shop along with Allison Mowery and Sacha Martin, who also own Bluebird Boutique, said Oprah's favorite designer loved what she has done with the shelving.

"Nate was in there because he had designed a shoe store in Chicago that closed. We bought some of his display items, shelving he had designed, and put them in our store. We designed around his design. He had heard from his mother, who lives here, Nancy Golden, that we were opening the store. He said, I wanted to check out the stooore. It looks fantasticccc. You did a great jobbb," Rose said. "It was great he took time out of his visit to check it out. His mother did a really good job, is all I can say."

Star turn Christopher Hopkins did not have his way with Tippi Hedren when she sat in his chair at ReVamp! SalonSpa.

"I WANTED to do a French twist à la 'The Birds,' but she asked if I could shape it, so I cut it instead," Hopkins said.

If he looked cool and collected, he wasn't. "Unfortunately, Robert forgot to confirm it with me and called me saying, How fast can you get here?" Hopkins said. "I threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and broke speed records."

Hedren met Hopkins when he was in L.A. at a book expo for his "Staging Your Comeback: A Complete Beauty Revival for Women Over 45."

"She's still a knockout. She's trying to push legislation to keep people from owning exotic animals as pets, as they tend to kill people," Hopkins wrote in an e-mail.

Unwelcome words Temple Israel's rabbi didn't care for Harold Kail's remembrances of his mother, Bonnie, who died Aug. 4 at age 91. Kail is probably best known as the husband of Carroll Britton, longtime Edina cosmetic shop owner.

His mother's obituary stated: "She enjoyed entertaining her family and friends and her Mah Jongg groups in her lovely home. Her sense of humor, vitality, enthusiasm and caring for others will never be forgotten."

The "caring for others" part was particularly difficult to stomach for some of us at her Wednesday memorial service, considering what Harold had told a few friends about his mother's refusal to protect him from a sexually abusive male teenage baby sitter.

To an audience of about 70, Kail disclosed his childhood horror in an act of catharsis.

Kail said that Bonnie's volunteer work kept her so busy 52 years ago that she regularly sent her little boy, 4 at the time, across the alley to a neighbor baby sitter. "Day after day, year after year, the little boy was savagely abused, coming home with swollen eyes, blood." Members of the congregation, some shaking their heads, got the PG version of the hideous story Kail began confiding to friends about four years ago. "He told his mother and his mother kept sending him," Kail told the congregation. "I confronted her -- I was that little boy -- on her death bed. I was trying to get some closure. And she said three words to me: 'Let it go.' And that's what I am; I'm letting it go. Enjoy your lunch," Kail said, leaving the bima.

Courageous acts from the pulpit seem to be a rarity these days. William Levy, a medical executive, said: "I've known Harold since sixth grade. We are best friends. I'm extremely proud of him that he has now been able to discuss this issue publicly."

Said Britton: "You don't know what it took for him to get up there in front of me and our son. I am so proud of him. I had such disdain for Bonnie because of what she chose to ignore on her watch. What does an innocent child do to keep getting punished? And that's what she did: punish him. She resented him and had such anger for him. What might have happened to Bonnie, we don't know."

I am one of four friends to whom Kail confided this abuse. I accompanied him to his first meeting with psychiatrist Dr. Twila Germanson. "She helped me see it wasn't my fault," Kail said. "My life wasn't worth living when I walked in that door two and a half years ago. She saved my life and my marriage. I am looking into how I can spend the rest of my life helping other abuse victims through a foundation that helps financially with therapy sessions."

Kail hopes to help others by making his story public. If you suspect child sexual abuse, you can call your county Social Services Department (Hennepin County child protection reporting line, 612-348-3552) or local police. Several hot lines offer help, including the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-4673 anytime) and St. Paul-based Stop It Now! (888-773-8368, 8-5 weekdays).