Duds for dogs

As president of City Dog Designed, Karen Winkler designs denim, nylon and imitation-leather jackets that are, well, for the dogs. The jackets come in a number of styles and carry such canine-inspired names such as Leader of the Pack and Bad Dog to the Bone. More than 150,000 bomber jackets, City Dog's first model, have been sold since Ms. Winkler first started marketing them a few years ago.

City Dog Designed jackets are available in the Baltimore area at Petstuff, Petsmart and other pet stores. They sell for $20 to $60, depending on size and style. When Everett Kerr decided to open a bookstore that would carry items of particular interest to African-Americans, he named it for the historical marker that slaves traveling on the Underground Railroad used to guide them to freedom.

The Northstar Book Connection, which opened earlier this year in Catonsville's Westview Mall, stocks fiction, non-fiction, children's books, newspapers and other Afrocentric reading material.

There is a need, Mr. Kerr says, for a bookstore like Northstar, where "90 percent of our books are by people of African descent."

The Northstar Book Connection is open 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. The telephone number is (410) 788-1477.

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