illinois small businesses – Page 2

February 23, 2017April 16, 2018

| Skeff Distributing | Small Business Feature | Decatur IL |

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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!

February 7, 2017

| Dodson Family Portraits Backyard & Downtown Decatur |

Today’s blog post is coming to you a bit later in the day than normal but for a very good reason. This morning when I got to the office I got a sweet, kind but heartbroken email from Heather about some bad news they’d gotten about one of their adorable dogs who won’t be with them much longer. This gal was just looking for some happiness in her sad day and was hoping their blog feature happened to be coming up this week…. though it wasn’t scheduled for a week or two, of course hearing such news I bumped it up a bit!

I know our dogs are a big part of our family and were included not only in our family photos before BabyB came along but were also included in her newborn portraits and hang in photos all over our home/walls. I’m SO glad we included these two in their session and am happy to be able to share them all with you today. Prayers and good thoughts to this family this week as they hug and love on this special girl for a bit longer. She may not have wanted to be in the spotlight of the images but she made her presence known especially with some amazing facial expressions (like the one below!).

The below image is one we all loved but I kept going back and forth on if I liked it best black and white or color and these two kept debating horizontal or vertical… what do you think they picked?!?

I’m really excited for how dedicated Heather was to selecting images she knew she wanted to display in their home and deciding how they wanted to display them (so they don’t just end up in a box somewhere at home) which is right in line with what I love to do with clients. The following three are planned for a series collage.

And the one on the left below we designed as a thin horizontal canvas to fit perfectly on their wall.

family portraits, pictures, sarah jane photography, decatur il, photographer, central illinois, couples portraits, family photos, family photographer, engagement, with dogs, outdoors, winter pictures, afterdark, after dark, street lights, avon theater, backyard photos, sjanephotography You can head over to their Facebook Album to give them some love with your likes & comments (let’s help spread some joy to them this week!)

January 31, 2017January 30, 2017

| Peyton L | Eisenhower High School Senior 2017 Photographer |

Today I get to share Peyton’s senior portraits with you! I got to work with Peyton’s family for the first time a couple of years ago when I photographed his brother Preston (class of 2015).

Of course, as you might guess, most guys aren’t running through my doors with bells on and buckets of clothes excited for the day they’ve been waiting for all year … so we don’t try to hold them hostage for our longest session but it’s amazing what we can get done at a single location in 45 minutes (especially with guys who’s clothing changes are quick and easy!). We chose Fairview Park for Peyton’s session because we wanted to work in a variety of looks to get both an outdoor nature feel as well as some more urban tones/textures. We also wanted to mix things up from what we created for Preston which was a more fall/urban look.

What I’m most excited about sharing with you today is something Peyton’s mom told me just yesterday….. that Peyton’s favorite images were those when I captured him smiling. MOST guys make me work a little harder than our gals do to get smiles in front of the camera. But no worries, challenge accepted!

The below letter image was a special request to make sure we worked in to Peyton’s session so that once his younger brother has his senior portraits we’ll have a series with all three with their letters. I love that we are planning ahead to a series piece that will show off this similarity between all three Lindsey brothers!

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Don’t forget to head over to our Facebook Page to give Peyton some love with your likes/comments. AND seniors remember we are booking our class of 2018 SENIOR MODEL interviews NOW: Apply HERE!

January 26, 2017November 1, 2017

Mint Salon | Small Business Feature | Decatur IL

You guys!!!!! I’ve been waiting excitedly to share Mint Salon with you. I’m a bit biased toward this gorgeous salon since my hair stylist (aka hair artist/magician) Katie is there but I have to say I’ve heard over and over again how much my clients and friends love all the gals here. And brides, seriously there is NOT a more adorable salon for you and they have the state of the art SalonTouch Studio software that facilitates communicating your desires to the hairdresser, perfect for getting ready on your big day!

The Details: Mint Salon, Brook, Randi, Katie, Lydia and Ashely | In Business: 4 years

Hours: Vary per stylist on Tuesday through Saturday| Location: 363 S. Main St. Suite 409| Phone: Vary per stylist

Tell us about your business… What do you do? We are a locally owned salon offering hair-cuts, color, specialty styles, makeup, facial waxing, nails and pedicures.

What makes your business unique/special? We stay up to date on current trends and styles. Also our salon vibe is a vintage chic style.

See clearly the rest of Decatur knows how awesome this place is! Voted #1 in the Herald and Review Reader’s Choice 2015:

What item/service on your menu or in your shop do you just LOVE and think everyone needs? We LOVE a good blow out! It’s the perfect way to start off your weekend or to make it less work for you to style over the next couple days.

In what way have you gone above/beyond in the past for a customer? We offer classes and parties for friends to learn new tips & tricks. This also gives them the opportunity to socialize and have a little fun with their friends.

What is the coolest thing you’ve ever had a client do for you? We have had numerous great/cool things that our clients have done for us over the years. From jobs for family members, gifts, and concert tickets! We love our Mint clients!

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? OPI nail polish and Kenra hair products are our go-to products that we could just not do without!

What other local business do you just LOVE? Why? Paco’s Sol Bistro and Donnie’s Pizza are our number one places to hangout and relax after a long week!

WHY did you choose to do what you do? We love people and love creating art out of hair.

When did you know you wanted to go into this business? From a young age I think we have all loved makeup, hair, and fashion. This is the best!

What are you passionate about outside of your business? Family, friends, music and of course a little shopping addiction as well.

Describe your PERFECT day… Brunch at the Blue Spoon, hanging at the pool with the family and some wine on the patio!

Introduce us to your STAFF…

Brook Banning– I’ve been doing hair for 14 years!! My reward and fav thing being a hair stylist is styling out the finished product of my cut and color! Outside of hair I absolutely love traveling so I can enjoy my favorite things like quality time with my kids, shopping, dancing, the beach and music!

Ashley Brown– I’ve been doing hair for almost 4 years. I love doing bright and fun colors. When I’m not at the salon, I like working on my new house and lounging with my animals.

Lydia Gentry-Nail tech at Mint Salon. I have been in the industry for 17 years. I have been at Mint since we opened 4 years ago. I love being the best part of my client’s day!!

Kara Williams– My favorite part of being a hairstylist is doing Upstyles such as weddings & proms. A little fun fact about me…I started college as a music major, so I love singing and enjoy a good family karaoke session.

Randi Johnston– I’ve been doing hair for 10 years and I love new color trends especially balayage and hair painting. When I’m not busy with my toddlers I love crafting, playing with makeup and decorating my house!

Katie Fucinari-Hair and makeup artist. I have been doing hair and makeup for ten years and specialize in bridal makeup. When I’m not in the salon I love to spend time with friends and family! Fun fact about me is I would love to own a old school muscle car!

See the latest news at:

http://www.mintsalondecatur.com/blog/

facebook.com/mintsalondecatur

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

January 4, 2017January 4, 2017

| Miller Annual Fall Family Portraits | Decatur IL |

Oh my goodness! This week is my first week back in the office and I don’t know about you but after a few weeks off it’s taking me a bit to get settled back into the flow of things SO our usual Tuesday blog is coming to you today, on Wednesday, because I forgot what day it was! I hope you all had a wonderful break and are getting settled into the new year as we are… bear with me as I attempt to get back on schedule and let’s pretend it’s Tuesday. Don’t worry our Thursday blog with be back as usual and maybe even a bonus post or two to show off all the beautiful people we were working with this fall. And NOW, it’s time to check out the Miller family:

I’ve had the chance to photograph this beautiful family nearly every year since Grant was a baby with their first session being one of the first in our home studio on the west side of Decatur! This year these troopers hung in there for a cold snap and super windy evening so we could get their annual portraits updated for their Christmas cards.

I’m hoping we treat these kiddos to warm weather for their next session!

If you’re considering a Limited Edition session in 2017 we’ve now opened these 4 dates: April 8 (in time for Easter), May 6, August 5 and November 4 (in time for Christmas). These are short 15 or 30 minute sessions at a preselected location. You can find out more details and book online HERE! These sessions are first come, first serve and when they’re full, they’re full.