David Dworkin

News Obituary Article

ATLANTA: David Dworkin, 63, retail innovator

By KAY POWELL

From his perch running Neiman Marcus and other companies, David Dworkin found a retail niche and filled it with fuchsia photo albums, red dishes, yellow napkins, blue martini glasses and green stationery sets.

He took off his corporate suit and put on his jeans and, in 2001, opened Swoozie's, a contemporary gift and paper store in Buckhead.

Today, there are 21 Swoozie's stores in nine states, with five stores in metro Atlanta, said his sister-in-law, Kim Reeder of Atlanta.

In two years of research, Mr. Dworkin walked miles of mall corridors and found a void in the paper and gift business. Thus Swoozie's was created.

The company name makes people smile, he said in a 2003 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. The store is all about fun. Distinctive merchandise, bold colors and clever displays make Swoozie's as much a mood lifter as a shopping experience.

Mr. Dworkin was a gracious and considerate host who loved to entertain, said his friend Deppe Callahan of Sandy Springs. His stores reflect that.

The memorial service for Mr. Dworkin, 63, will be 2 p.m. May 18 at Trinity Presbyterian Church. He died of cancer at his Atlanta residence May 2. H.M. Patterson & Son, Arlington Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Dworkin spent 33 years running Neiman Marcus and Storehouse in England and as a top executive with Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller and Broadway Stores in Los Angeles.

He came to the metro area as chief executive of Uptons and decided to stay when the retailer went out of business. He founded Swoozie's with Kelly Plank-Dworkin, whom he married in August 2004.

Being entertained by Mr. Dworkin was always a good time, Mr. Callahan said. He gathered an assortment of people --- many from his Coral Gables, Fla., high school fraternity, Ching Tang --- made sure they were comfortable and hosted a lively affair.

He was passionate about red wine and daily workouts. "As long as I knew him, he was a very, very, very health-conscious person," Mr. Callahan said.

Mr. Dworkin had told a reporter he slept about five hours a night, and, Mr. Callahan admitted, "I did get e-mails from him at pretty strange hours."

Mr. Dworkin, a fan of crime and mystery novels, particularly enjoyed his supper with novelist John Grisham and former Atlantan Hugh Wilson of "WKRP in Cincinnati" fame, who directed "First Wives Club" and is another Ching Tang member.

They invited Mr. Dworkin and Mr. Callahan, another Ching Tang member, to join them for supper in Atlanta. Mr. Callahan said he can't remember if Mr. Dworkin ordered red wine for the group.

He does remember that the conversation centered around not mysteries and crimes, but sports, because both Mr. Dworkin and Mr. Grisham were big sports fans.

Since he was a child growing up in Miami, Mr. Dworkin had held the Boys & Girls Clubs of America dear. He was a member as a child and a national trustee as an adult.

Boys & Girls Clubs president and CEO Roxanne Spillett of Atlanta lauded him for "his unwavering spirit of generosity and concern for our nation's children."

"It is rare to find individuals as passionate and dedicated as David," she said. "For more than 20 years, he unselfishly dedicated his time, resources and talent to Boys & Girls Clubs of America."

"He nurtured his friendships and held them in high regard," Mr. Callahan said. "He was just such a fine, fine person."

Survivors other than his wife include two daughters, Kira Shepherd of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., and Wendy Perry of Cleveland Heights, Ohio; two stepdaughters, Ashley Plank of Los Angeles and Morgan Plank of Atlanta; a stepson, Jordan Plank of Atlanta; and five grandchildren.

© 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution