sarah jane – Page 12

December 29, 2016December 11, 2016

Petals | Small Business Feature

It’s time to feature Decatur’s number one location for custom-personalized EVERYTHING! Petals is a full-service gift shop and they specialize in personalization (especially birthday t-shirts!). Monograms, team spirit, you name it they can do it!

The Details: Kari Calhoun, Owner of Petals | In Business: 8 years

Hours: Monday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm & Saturday 10:00am-4:00pm | Location: 1351 Hickory Point Dr Suite C Forsyth, IL

Tell us about your business… What do you do? We are a full service gift shop. We not only sell fun women’s clothing and accessories, gifts for men, school spirit wear and gifts for all ages we personalize these gifts for you. Monogram your items, create fun tshirts for baby to adult, embroider most items or let us design rhinestone shirts for fun or your school. Birthday shirts are our specialty.

What makes your business unique/special? We create custom personalized items. Infant, toddler, youth and adult. From special 1^st birthday outfits to a funny tshirt for grandpa.

What item/service on your menu or in your shop do you just LOVE and think everyone needs? We love our custom birthday items. Tutus, diaper covers, bow ties, hats, banners, t shirts and onesies. Another fun item is our custom t-shirts. Funny sayings to business logos. We love helping you design something unique, fun and just what you want.

Tell us about YOU… WHY did you choose to do what you do? I decided 8 years ago to open a gift shop after leaving the medical field. It has evolved into a gift shop with personalization over the years. We grow each year and are very thankful for our repeat customers and organizations. I am married to a wonderful man that shares my passion for Petals and creating new products.

When did you know you wanted to go into this business? It was just the time for me. I had always wanted my own business and I was in a position to change jobs or create my own. I chose the latter.

In what way have you gone above/beyond in the past for a customer? We help them get exactly what they want. Sometimes you have an idea and we can make it become a reality. Taking a gift and making it personal sets it apart from everything else.

What is the coolest thing you’ve ever had a client do for you? Become a friend. After 8 years in business some of my customers have become very close friends.

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? I could not do what I do without my embroidery machines, vinyl cutter, rhinestone software and sewing machine. All these tools help me create customer orders

What other local business do you just LOVE? Why? I would have to say Dels and Giggles. I love knowing I can go to either one of these and find exactly what I am looking for. As a small business owner, I have no time and hate shopping online. It’s great to know I can get great gifts local with wonderful businesses.

What are you passionate about outside of your business? My family and friends. Owning your own business is 24/7 job and when you create and make 80% or more of the items you carry, it really becomes your life. My friends and family understand this and will even come and work with me to spend time with me. It very important to have a support system.

Describe your PERFECT day… I think my perfect day happens very often. Honestly not all days are great, things go wrong, stress happens and it is hard wearing so many hats in a business, but I love what I do. Opening my shop every morning and sometimes looking around and seeing how far I have come makes a perfect day.

Introduce us to your STAFF…

Morgan Ground. High School Senior Maroa-Forsyth

Jessica Eastwood. Our newest employee who is skilled on creating embroidered items for our customer.

See the latest news at:

http://www.petalsgiftshop.com/

See our other past small business features to connect with more businesses in our area:

See more on our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter @sjanephotog, Instagram @sjanephotograhy, and Snapchat @sjanephotog.

December 23, 2016December 27, 2017

| Liz + Justin | Family Portraits Decatur IL | Christmas Cards |

BONUS extra blog post this week! With all the sessions this fall I have our typical Tuesday/Thursday blog posts scheduled out until MARCH so it was time to throw in some bonus Friday blog posts to be able to fit everyone in for their little minute in the spotlight.

Elizabeth and Justin are getting married this May and I’m thrilled to be a part of their big day. We needed just a few images of these guys pre-wedding for Christmas cards so we were able to get them set for our Limited Edition session date down in Macon. I have been in love with this pine tree lane since Rebekah’s senior session and after we had her family session there I knew I wanted to host a portrait date there and the Nash family was on board and so welcoming.

The wind was a tad crazy that day (if you follow us on IG @sjanephotography you may remember seeing all our presents blow away!) but these four were rock stars and did a great job pretending it wasn’t freezing. Here’s hoping for MUCH warmer weather the next time I photograph these beautiful family.

Some of you guys may have seen this gem in your mailbox this Christmas. I LOVE the design they chose for the card!

Be sure to head over to our Facebook Page to give them some love with your likes/comments.

December 13, 2016December 12, 2016

| Heather + Blair | Engagement Portraits | Decatur IL |

Heather and Blair are ENGAGED!!! These two are so fun to work with, Heather is nothing but smiles and energy which I love and you can tell how much these two fit together right off the bat. They are getting married this June and I cannot wait to be a part of their beautiful day. But until then, it’s time to enjoy their Allerton Park engagement session….

Be sure to head over to our Facebook Page to view their full session proof video and give them some love with your likes, comments and shares!

December 8, 2016December 7, 2016

| Ariel | Argenta-Oreana High School Senior Portraits | Class of 2017 |

Today it’s Ariel’s debut on the blog! Ariel, her mom and I had a fantastic time at Forsyth Park and around downtown Decatur creating her senior portraits. Her session kicked off with a bang with a snake sighting which propelled me and her mom into full on girl screams and ‘evacuation mode’ …. I took off so fast I left my lighting gear in the dust (Ariel who was unphased and laughing at our over the top reactions saved the day by going back over to the snake zone to rescue my gear!). Needless to say I think there’s one area of Forsyth park I think we’ll avoid from now on (we noticed quite a few holes that I’m now convinced were a little snake neighborhood – AHHH).

Anyways, enough about snakes, more about Ariel. Here are our favorite images from her session and you can see her proof show and MORE on our facebook page too!

December 1, 2016December 1, 2016

| Tarrant Family Portraits | Decatur IL |

Katlyn was one of our stunning 2016 senior clients (See here session HERE) and this fall it was time to get the whole family in front of the camera. These girls are the sweetest and I had a blast hanging out with Katlyn and her mom for her portraits so I was thrilled to meet the guys in their lives for this go round.

Fall was a little odd this year so surprisingly this late October session is rocking a lot of green foliage but I think it ended up working perfectly with their olive wardrobe! Plus, despite some crazy wind we caught a lovely sunset.

Don’t forget to check them out on our facebook page to show the love with your likes, comments and shares.