Friday, May 19, 2017

20th Anniversary Memories

 We had picture Boards on display for the anniversary celebration.  20 Years ago Peggy B. opened Picture This on London Rd in Eau Claire. We had several ladies come to the Anniversary sharing their memoires of when it opened. Two were there the day it opened 20 years ago. So that was cool.

Then a few years later sisters Beth and Patti bought it and moved it kitty-corner to Skeels Ave. But the roof leaked and the landlord wasn't great so Patti's husband started building the building on highway 93. They moved it out here in 2001. And added more classroom space on a couple years later. I can remember going to the Customer Thrift Sale when it was still the small classroom.
 In 2004 I opened Making Memories Last in Eleva. A lot of gals who joined us for the Anniversary also had came to my Eleva store. In 2006 I bought Picture This from Beth and Patti. And 2 months later closed the Eleva location and moved all my inventory to the EC location. It has been quite the journey and I have met sooo many wonderful people along the way. And many customers became very good friends.
 I have had lots of wonderful staff over the years. We have made many fun memories. Many!!
 We have done endless unique events over the years. When the economy took a downturn....many stores went out of business. My house is on the line with the store....so failure was never an option.
And I'm too stubborn for my own good to boot. ha   So I am always thinking of different things to bring you gals in. And I have always kept new product coming in. Even in my small store. I custom order all the time. I feel its those things that help.
Some fun CHA memories. Going to the trade shows is always fun. And if you gals think you are overwhelmed with all the fun product at Picture This....try going to a trade show. I want to order it ALL!!
We had a store mascot for awhile ... Cosmo. He went to a trade show with us in spirit. We had his photo taken with all the scrapbooking stars there, including Tim Holtz.
We have done a PT Rodeo and had Miss WI Rodeo her and a real race horse and barrel racer (my baby sister Lisa)  My oldest dressed as a bear for one of our Cancer Crops to surprise the attendees and for fun photo ops. We have partnered with the Animal Shelter and was an off-site for cats up for adoption. We helped adopt 17 cats in 14 months. And we took the harder-to-adopt...except for the short stint we had with kittens when they needed help with that.
We did a Crazy Hat Day for prizes and discounts. When Tin Roof opened down the road I came up with the idea of Pages & Petals Contest that her and I did together. I love supporting other small businesses since I know how hard it is to run one.
So thank you to every one who has been on this journey. Hopefully we continue to be your destination for inspiration for many more years.

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