Commercial Photography – Page 2

April 27, 2017April 28, 2017

Paco’s Sol Bistro | Small Business Feature

A day late on our monthly small business feature since yesterday was #BabyB’s second birthday so I wasn’t in the office, but I promise it’s worth the wait for the delicious local business! It’s our date night fav.

The Details: Pack’s Sol Bistro | Paco Greenwell, Owner | In Business: 7 years

Hours: Tues – Thurs, 11am-8pm; Fri-Sat 11am-9pm Mondays 11am-8pm beginning June 5th! | Location: 237 N Main St. Downtown Decatur

Tell us about your business… What do you do? Full service bar and restaurant that features 2 private party spaces.

What makes your business unique/special? Unique, made-from-scratch menu featuring all original recipes.

What item/service on your menu or in your shop do you just LOVE and think everyone needs? Everyone should try the chicken meatloaf or southwest egg rolls. And guacamole if you are a fan.

In what way have you gone above/beyond in the past for a customer? We have made a special food feature for several of our regular guests for their birthday. (Actually did this today) We also have Tervis cups for our most loyal bar regular with their name on them. We have also featured art from several local artists.

What is the coolest thing you’ve ever had a client do for you? When hosting a charity event, some regulars purchased a painting they knew we liked and gave it to us to hang in the restaurant.

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? My staff! They make it all happen.

What other local business do you just LOVE? Why? I would rather not single out any. We always try to support any and all that we can.

Tell us about YOU… WHY did you choose to do what you do? I love to make people happy. There’s no better way to the heart than through the stomach.

When did you know you wanted to go into this business? I didn’t choose it. It chose me. I needed a job at 18. I started as a server and had my first management job at 18. I just took to it naturally. Thru my time I discovered my passion and ability to cook and come up with recipes. I love the combination of art and science in cooking.

What are you passionate about outside of your business? My wife and I are avid pool players and St. Louis Cardinal fans.

Describe your PERFECT day… 85 degrees without a cloud in the sky, hanging in the pool with my beautiful wife, my dogs, our family and friends. Music blasting, food on the grill and laughter all around.

See the latest news at:

http://www.solbistro.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

If you’d like to have YOUR small business featured for FREE on the SJP blog (or know a small business we should feature) you can find details HERE!

February 23, 2017April 16, 2018

| Skeff Distributing | Small Business Feature | Decatur IL |

skieff, distributing, sip, commercial photos, small business feature

Today I get to share a HUGE small business based right here in Decatur. Just this last month I had the privilege to photograph their 50th anniversary celebration complete with a open house banquet/dinner party and a Bose giveaway contest which all their attendees could participate. And I have to tell you that spending time with them over those two days of festivities I just LOVE the atmosphere they’ve cultivated. There is an attention to detail that I haven’t seen in a lot of places with trucks, a warehouse and offices that are pristine.

Being very goal driven myself I also loved seeing their goals for the year/month broken down and posted throughout the offices as well as their overall visions for each department displayed largely (like 8 feet tall guys) in their meeting room. There’s a pride and fellowship among the employees and owners that cannot be overlooked and it makes it a pleasure to work with them.

The Details: Skeff Distributing Company, Inc. | In Business: We’ve been in business since January 6, 1967. Over 50 years!

Hours: Office Hours are Monday-Thursday 8am-5pm, Friday 8am-4pm. | Location: We distribute to 5 markets in East Central Illinois: Decatur, Springfield,Champaign, Danville, and Taylorville.| Phone: 217-877-3774

Tell us about your business… What do you do? Skeff Distributing Company, Inc. was incorporated on January 6, 1967 to serve as the distributor for Anheuser-Busch, Inc. products. 48 years later, we have expanded our footprint to include the counties of Macon, Menard, Piatt, Champaign, Vermilion, portions of Logan and Christian, DeWitt, Sangamon, Moultrie, Macoupin, Montgomery, Morgan, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, and Iroquois in Central Illinois.

The company currently has 27 delivery routes in the Decatur, Springfield, Danville, Champaign-Urbana, and Taylorville markets to service around 1,800 customers. Team Skeff has expanded to include over 100 employees (both union and non-union) and distributes 70+ brand families.

What makes your business unique/special? Skeff Distributing is in a special position in business and industry because the product by its very nature is centered on good times and social gatherings. Not too many other businesses can say the same!

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? We could not do business without our suppliers, especially Anheuser-Busch our main supplier, or our customers. Without them, we would lack products to sell to our retail accounts and, by extension, their customers would have nothing to consume!

A few years ago I had the chance to work with Skeff for the first time to create the large (6 feet tall) red focal canvas you see in their lobby (pictured below). This was a fun and different project for me though I often design large pieces and collages for my client homes this was the first in a while for a commercial office.

One of the coolest things to see as a consumer is the massive Skeff warehouse with stacks and stacks and stacks (and stacks…..) of beverages literally as far as you can see! I know I take for granted the fact that I can walk into any grocery store or gas station and pick up my drink of choice… well this, my friends, is what makes that possible!

And you cannot overlook the amazing memorabilia that adorns nearly every space at Skeff. This is an amazing look back through this history of some of their main suppliers:

Lastly, I’m excited to share with you the Skeff 50th anniversary video:

See the latest news at: http://www.skeffdist.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.

If you’d like to have YOUR small business featured for FREE on the SJP blog (or know a small business we should feature) you can find details HERE!

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.

July 22, 2015

| Del’s Popcorn on Merchant | Rebuilding | Decatur IL |

One of Decatur’s most beloved downtown businesses, Del’s Popcorn on Merchant, recently suffered a fire and has been on the mend. This week I was contacted by Continental Carbonic, to be a part of their rebuild, specifically the dry ice blasting that they began today.

After touring all three floors of this historic downtown building and taking a peek back into it’s history, I cannot wait to see what’s in store for it next. Kemper gave us a full tour and was getting his hands on the dry ice blasting equipment when we left saying that though they estimated 14 days for this portion of the project, they get work DONE and he hoped for it to be done in 10 (that’s my kind of work ethic right there).

I’m excited to look in on them next week for some ‘during’ images and then head back when the work is done to show off what Continental Carbonic’s dry ice blasting can do to restore life back to their building.

Here are just a couple images from my day at Del’s (just a peek outside for now!).