Decatur – Page 17

August 25, 2016November 10, 2017

Millie & Bo’s Pet Barkery | Small Business Feature

It’s time again for us to focus on another favorite local business in Decatur! This month we’re looking at someplace special for your fur babies, Millie & Bo’s Barkery. They have everything you need to spoil, treat and pamper your pooches (especially after a vet visit at Northgate Pet Clinic across the lot).

The Details: Charlene Fitzpatrick, Manager at Millie & Bo’s Pet Barkery | In Business: 14 years

Hours: T-F 9-5:30, Sat 9-3| Locations: 2890 N MLK Jr Drive, Decatur IL (located in Northgate Pet Plaza) | Phone: 217-872-1111

Tell us about your business…What do you do? Millie & Bo’s Barkery is an upscale dog bakery and boutique in Decatur, IL. We bake dog treats, sell unique dog toys, as well as greeting cards, and dog themed jewelry. We also have a large variety of dog-clothes in our store and we also offer unique gifts for that dog-lover in your life. We also sell dog food, including Fromm and Hill’s Science Diet.

What makes your business unique/special? Millie & Bo’s offers all-natural dog treats, most of which are made in-store. We also offer treats with frosting if you are looking for something a little extra-special for your pooch. We also offer unique products for your pooch, majority of which are made in the USA… and there’s a set of big hedgehog cages in case customers need some cuteness and a cheerful charge for a day.

In what way have you gone above and beyond in the past for a customer? We go above and beyond for customers by bringing in special order items that we don’t normally carry. We try to make sure we offer one-on-one service with all customers because we want everyone to love our store just as much as we do. We want to always make sure that our customers are happy when they leave our store.

What is the coolest thing you’ve ever had a client do for you? Someone brought us homemade cookies at Christmas last year.

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? Why? I would say Beachy’s in Arthur because they supply us with all of our cooking necessities.

What other local business do you just LOVE? Why? Millie & Bo’s employees are frequent visitors at Coffee Connection for all of our lunch needs! And they also hand out our cookies to all of their visitors with dogs.

WHY did you choose to do what you do? My dream job came true at Millie & Bo’s. I started working as a baker here and then I was able to move into a managerial position. I love working with dogs and always being able to please my customers. And best of all, I get to bring some of my dogs to work!

When did you know you wanted to go into this business? Our goal at Millie & Bo’s is to provide fun in your pet’s life. Angee Baker is our owner and she started this business and named it after her two dogs at the time, Millie & Bo. Ten percent of our profits will always be given to animal care agencies!

What are you passionate about outside of your business? We are passionate about sponsoring and supporting dog-related events throughout Decatur, IL.

Describe your PERFECT day… A gratifying day is when we are able to have a lot of customers bring their dogs in!

Introduce us to your STAFF…

Charlene Fitzpatrick, Manager– Charlene has 9 dogs: 7 miniature dachshunds and 2 standard poodles. Charlene was also born and raised in Burbank, California.

Alexa Jones, Sales Associate/Baker– Alexa has two miniature Australian Shepherds named Redd and Blue. She attends Eastern Illinois University when she is not baking dog treats.

Nikki Macke, Sales Associate/Baker– Nikki has a lab mix named Murphy who she loves to take on long walks and she also enjoys spending time with her sons Adam and Max!

Gillian Jones, Sales Associate/Baker– Gillian is Alexa’s little sister and she will be playing volleyball at Parkland this fall.

*** They even have special pieces to help you remember your beloved pets once they’ve passed…

See the latest news at:

http://www.millieandbosbarkery.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

August 23, 2016August 23, 2016

| Emily | Central A & M Senior Model Portraits | Class of 2017 |

It’s time to see Emily’s senior portraits!!!!! This year I had not one, not two, but THREE lovely gals from Central A & M apply to be senior models and while I typically do not accept more than two seniors maximum from a particular school into the model program I just could not turn away one of these beautiful gals. They were all three SO different in style, interests/activities, personalities and even looks …. so this year we have 3 Central A & M models and I’m 100% thrilled with it!

You may remember Abby (posted just a few weeks ago) and we have Kaitlin coming up soon but right now it’s EMILY!!!!

She did a phenomenal job selecting unique outfits and my absolute favorite has to be this beautiful dress. It was perfect for field sunset portraits:

I knew I wanted to try out this new location and when Emily sent me her wardrobe I knew this would be a perfect fit for her neutral aztec pattern top – nothing goes better with a little aztec pattern than a little pop of turquoise! Ok this might be my second favorite outfit of Emily’s… those gold bands!!! <3 And I just love her curls so that middle portrait is one of my absolute favorites! Plus she has the BEST laugh face so that bottom left… LOVE IT!
Jump perfection: Red lipstick + gold bands + water… YES please! We ended Emily’s session with an unexpected water excursion. 99% of the time when we add water into a session it’s preplanned. This time, we just happened to be in the right place at the right time and when she pulled this out for her last outfit I pitched the idea of diving in (literally) and she was game…. I’m SO glad she said yes to those, it was a blast!

It’s been so fun to photograph Emily and even to get to know some of her friends on her BFF day photo shoot! Don’t forget to check out more seniors and other recent work on our Facebook Page.

August 19, 2016August 22, 2016

| Katie | Senior Portraits Decatur IL |

Today I’m excited to show off some of Katie’s favorite images from her senior session! She was such a sweetheart and I had a blast photographing her in the studio this month. I met Katie and her sister at last year’s Neuhoff Media’s Lady Palooza where they both jumped in and pre-booked Katie’s senior session and her sister’s family session (coming up this fall). I just love it when new clients love the work and we click right away (one of my favorite parts of those shopping nights is chatting with new people!!).

August 5, 2016August 9, 2016

| Senior Best Friend Sessions | Limited Edition Mini Event |

I’m so excited to share with you some of our favorite images from this year’s BFF day sessions! I’ve always let our seniors include a friend or sibling in their senior session but this year I took it a step further and hosted a BFF day for our seniors to bring in their friends for 30 minutes in the spotlight and it was a blast!

One thing about BFF sessions is you have to pose CLOSE so we laughed that if these girls weren’t friends before the session they were going to be after! With my own high school 10 year reunion just last weekend (and my BFF not only a girl I went to high school with but middle and grade school too!) these were such fun sessions because I know how in just a year so many of these girls will scatter across the state, the country and even the world. Though they may stay in touch and even some may stay close, the days of seeing eachother every day in the halls are coming to a close for most of them in just a few short months.

Soak up these times ladies, you are all fabulous!

July 28, 2016July 28, 2016

Giggles | Small Business Feature | Decatur IL Shops on Merchant Street |

I’m so so excited for today’s blog post! Today I’m kicking of a series of features of some of the Decatur area’s fantastic local businesses. Each month (on the last Thursday of the month) I’ll have a brand new business to share with you. Decatur if FULL of amazing small businesses from shops to restaurants and talented small business owners from designers to mechanics. As a small business owner myself I know it can be tough, time consuming and expensive to get your name out into your market so I’m going to use my abilities to introduce YOU to THEM!

I’m starting with Giggles on Merchant! This shop is an amazing pandora’s box of wonders for kids of all ages (0-99)! You’re going to see a LOT of images in this feature but I can guarantee you I didn’t capture everything they have to offer you so you will definitely have to go in to see more for yourself (and stop by their brand new location at The Children’s Museum)!

The Details: Chrissy Spurlock, Owner/Manager at Giggles of Decatur & Giggles at the Museum | In Business: 8 years

Hours: Downtown: M-F 10-5, Sat 10-4, Sun closed Museum: M-F 10-4, Sat 10-4:30, Sun 1-4:30 | Location: 124 Merchant Street & 55.S Country Club Road (inside Children’s Museum of Illinois) | Phone: 217-475-1099

Tell us about your business…What do you do? We are a whimsical gift and card store that specializes in personalization & on-site custom invitations. We are a one stop shop… grab a gift, get a personalized gift bag, card and you’re on the way to the party!!

**I totally bought that contact case and it makes my day a little better every morning and evening!

*** Stocked up on books for baby B while I was there too (I swear I’m going to go broke doing these features!).

What makes your business unique/special? We are known for our Piggy Banks which we personalize and we also we strive to find unique toys/items that are not found at major retailers.

We LOVE everything in our store but out of it all I think everyone should have a custom personalized PIGGY BANK!!

In what way have you gone above/beyond in the past for a customer? We try and give each person the best customer service possible! That is why people keep coming back to us.. we help them create a one of a kind personalized item for that special occasion and if needed we do it on the spot (Same day service)!!

What’s the coolest thing a customer has ever done for you? We love are customers so much. We had one customer bring us cupcakes, another a banana cream pie! We have a long time customer that sends us flowers on our birthdays!

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? Why? It would have to be Del’s! We work together on a variety of things! Especially packaging items. We personalize the bucket/tote/pail and then Del’s fill it with their yummy goodies!

Why did you chose to do what you do? I grew up coming to this store and have always wanted to be a part of it… and I love our customers!! They are the best… love hearing people laugh everyday!

Introduce us to your STAFF…

Gay , She is our on-site Artist and has been with the store from the very beginning when it was “Just a Couple of Cards” .. 20 plus years!!

Judy, She is our onsite merchandiser. She can somehow make everything fit in our store! She also owned her own store “The Apple Peddler” for 19 years!!

Andi, She is our computer savvy go-to with a great sense of humor that always keeps us Giggling! She loves her 2 frenchies!! Woof-Woof

There is definitely LOTS more to see at Giggles, some of which you’ll find behind these doors… but you’ll have to go in to see them (no peeking here).

See the latest news from Giggles at: http://www.gigglesonmerchant.com/ | http://www.childrensmuseumofil.com/visit/museum-store/

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

See more from Sarah Jane Photography on our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter @sjanephotog, Instagram @sjanephotograhy, and Snapchat @sjanephotog