Becoming proprietors for the Historic Natchez Collection is fulfilling a dream for Darby Short. From the time the collection was established in 1989, Short has hoped to have an opportunity to showcase the collection in Natchez, she said.

When word spread earlier this year that Canal Street Depot would become Canal Street Station Condominiums and that the Classic Natchez shop, home to the Natchez collection, would close, Short was quick to contact the Historic Natchez Foundation, licensors of the items, which are designed in the fashion of furnishings and decorative items found in historic houses of Natchez.

&8220;We think we&8217;re a good fit for them,&8221; said Short, who, with her husband, Dennis, owns Darby&8217;s and D.Short Ltd., both successful retail shops in the 400 block of Main Street. &8220;We&8217;ll give the collection a lot of Main Street exposure.&8221;

The spacious D. Short Ltd., located in the former Ullman&8217;s building, already sells some upscale furniture lines. In fact, two of those furniture brands, Sherrill and Maitland Smith, now are associated with Henredon Furniture, maker of Historic Natchez Collection furniture.

The Natchez collection will require space of its own &8212; separate space. So the Shorts began restoration of the building at the northwest corner of Main and Commerce streets, which they have owned since 1999, as the new home of the Natchez collection.

&8220;That building will finish off the block,&8221; Darby Short said. &8220;Customers will go through D. Short to get to the building on the corner.&8221;

Henredon Natchez pieces will fit very well, she said. &8220;I&8217;ve paid close attention to Henredon and Ficks Reed pieces in the collection through the years.&8221;

The new Natchez location will carry other furnishings and decorative items in the collection in addition to the Henredon pieces and the Ficks Reed rattan and wicker furniture, said Ronald W. Miller, executive director of the Historic Natchez Foundation.

&8220;We have about a dozen licensees, and they do a broad range of things,&8221; Miller said. Mottahedeh & Co. makes porcelain and brass objects; Liberty Workshop makes jewelry; Foreign Advisory makes delft and crystal accessories; A Thing of Beauty makes tole and brass accessories; and Focal Point manufactures architectural products, for example.

The collection works through the cooperation of the Natchez Garden Club and the Pilgrimage Garden Club, whose members have opened their homes for designers to select furniture and decorative objects to copy or to serve as inspiration for Historic Natchez Collection items. The Foundation acts as licensing agent and approves designs from furniture and other makers.

Sale of the Henredon Natchez pieces is particularly crucial to the success of the program, Miller said. &8220;Every program, like ours, relies on its furniture licensee. The furniture licensee is the engine that pulls the whole program. Without it, you&8217;re really not moving,&8221; he said. &8220;They produce way more than half of our licensing revenue, and they are the magnet that attracts other licensees, who are happy to tie in with Henredon and gain entr/e to Henredon dealers.&8221;

Henredon manufactures bedroom, dining room and occasional pieces for the Natchez collection. Soon it will introduce the Natchez collection in a variety of new finishes, Miller said.

At the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, N.C., this week, Miller has spent much of his time meeting with Henredon representatives and getting to know some of the new executives and representatives of the company. &8220;Henredon is in a time of great change,&8221; he said. And he hopes the Henredon-Natchez relationship will grow.

The company now is affiliated with Furniture Brands International. The longtime Henredon president, Mike Dugan, who visited Natchez during the early years of the program, has left the company. The new president is Tom Tilley.

&8220;Several other licensing programs envy our place with Henredon,&8221; Miller said. &8220;They generate a lot more for us than most other upper-end furniture companies generate for their licensing programs.&8221;

The Shorts are eager to help in the generating of those funds, Darby Short said. &8220;We are happy to have a chance to improve some sales for them,&8221; she said.

Doing that, the Shorts also are pleased to be renovating another Main Street building and the small park next door to it, she said.

Passersby have watched the progress on the exterior of the building, which is to be restored to its 19th-century appearance. &8220;Inside the corner building, we&8217;ll do very little. We&8217;ll leave the brick walls, put in the air-conditioning and install new flooring,&8221; Short said. &8220;Basically, we want a warehouse feel to it.&8221;