businesses – BLOG

the laurel and the linden, l&l studios, local artist, local boutique, small business, small business feature, decatur il, businesses, shop local, decatur shops, sarah jane photography, custom jewelry, custom rings, metal art, custom stained glass, bottle lamps, purses, clothing

The Details: Lindsey Harrison, Owner/Arist of The Laurel & The Linden (formerly L&L Studio)| In Business: 4.5 Years

Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 10-6, Thursday 12-8 Location: 2938 S. Mt. Zion Road, Decatur 62521 (formerly inside Heroic Age Art Center) | Phone: 217.201.0593 | Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/landlstudioil

Tell us about your business… What do you do?
I own L&L Studio. I am a metalsmith by trade and a painter by hobby. I create almost all of the jewelry in the studio and all of the paintings. I run the marketing, social media and other technical aspects of the studio and I also teach Acrylic Abstract Meditation classes, (which is painting with some crazy hippie meditative stuff mixed in). My ma, Laura, is the showcasing specialist. She loves to organize the displays, and she also makes all of the stained glass wine bottle lights. She’s been doing those since 2000. L&L Studio is also the headquarters for the New & Growing Artists of Central Illinois group.

What makes your business unique/special?
I think the fact that L&L is run by a mother/daughter team is unique. We attend events together and we both represent our business. L & L means Lindsey & Laura. I also think it’s pretty special that everything in our studio is completely one of a kind and handmade (besides our small line of upcycled clothing). Most of what we create is made from recycled materials, like the wine bottles that show up on our porches or by our studio door and the old junk jewelry I’ve turned into new, more modern pieces.

What item/service on your menu or in your shop do you just LOVE and think everyone needs?

I think everyone needs a bottle light and a statement necklace. Bottle lights make a perfect gift, and statement necklaces, specifically heirloom charm necklaces, can be completely personalized into something you can truly treasure.

In what way have you gone above/beyond in the past for a customer?

We don’t take these types of orders anymore, but a few years ago a customer brought me a big purple sheet of metal that she had harvested from her dad’s old car that finally bit the dust. She knew she wanted SOMETHING made from it for him. He cherished that car. So I cut the silhouette of the car out of the sheet of metal and turned it into a car-shaped keychain with the car’s nickname engraved on it.

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? Why?
My torch is my baby. Melted metal is my style and I can’t do it without fire.

What other local business do you just LOVE? Why?

All of them. Local businesses are what give towns character. But on the side of town that my studio is on, my favorite business would have to be Black Iron Coffee.

Introduce us to your STAFF…Lindsey Elaine Harrison (myself). I graduated from EHS in 2010 and immediately began to explore different subjects at Richland, from photography to culinary to world religion… I loved it all but never decided on anything. One thing that was always a constant in my life was jewelry. Friendship bracelets, beading, you name it, I was selling it on the playground from 2^nd grade on and helping my mom sell beaded jewelry and her bottles at craft shows. One day, after all of my trial runs at RCC came to an “I-can’t-afford-to-play-around-anymore” type of halt, a friend asked me why I don’t just go to jewelry school. I didn’t know there was such a thing. Within a week of that discussion, I visited Gem City College in Quincy, registered and moved. 9 months and I was a certified metalsmith and jewelry designer. I eventually trained in Los Angeles on 3D design, which I no longer use, and studied jewelry essentials through the Gemological Institute of America.

Aside from the jewelry aspect of my life, I’m passionate about local artists and their success. I run the New & Growing Artists of Central Illinois facebook group, which is a networking, sharing, and social gathering place for local artists of all skill levels. This group makes it possible for me to host the Local Artists “L.A.” Gallery Show, NAGACI Eat & Arts, popup art markets and more.
I’m happily engaged to my high school sweetheart of 9 years, Steven Michael Kirk. We reside in a sweet little house in Oreana with two guinea pigs.

Laura Louise Harrison. Laura is my mom and doesn’t do social media or internet related things, so I’ll do the talking for her. She grew up learning to do leather tooling and sew from her grandmother and learned macramé from her mother, who taught macramé classes at Richland. She’s always loved to recycled, getting a little thrill from turning trash into treasure. When neighbors started dropping wine bottles off at her house, thinking she could recycle them into something, her infamous stained glass wine bottle lights were born. When the Decanter Fine Wines opened in 2006, they became her first distributor. Laura has dabbled in many types of fine art as well, charcoal and oil pastels being her favorites.

She has been married to her husband (and my dad) Scott Harrison for more than 30 years and they always have a dog or two.

Tell us about YOU… WHY did you choose to do what you do?

Which part of what I do? My studio is a creative outlet for us. We create ALL of the time, and we really needed an outlet for everything we made. I created the NAGACI group and the LA Gallery Shows because I saw a need in our community to offer recognition to artists who may not have gone to Millikin and may not want to be part of a prestigious art organization. Artists are everywhere. They need to be seen.

When did you know you wanted to go into this business?
I have always wanted to be in business surrounded by the arts and creative minds. We officially decided to take the plunge at Christmas of 2013. We heard about the art center, decided we could afford it and we jumped in.

What are you passionate about outside of your business?

Outside of L&L and the NAGACI group and art shows, I’m passionate about other small businesses and raising awareness of/for them. I’m also passionate about writing, though I don’t do it often anymore. I also have a deep fascination with sustainable life. You know, tiny houses, recycling, solar energy, composting, growing your own food (though if I did grow my own food I’d have to become a vegetarian because you’ll never catch me slaughtering an animal).

Describe your PERFECT day…

My perfect day would look like this:
Wake up when my alarm goes off the first time. Do yoga in my art/yoga studio. Have breakfast with fiancé. Watch a favorite show. Leave for work. Stop by Black Iron for coffee. Show up to the studio, turn on my favorite pandora station, flip the open sign and hit the torch (my best days are when I get on a roll making forged jewelry). Have at least 15 customers come in before closing. A friend brings lunch and we lunch together, maybe close for 30 minutes for a walk in the sunshine. Leave to meet fiancé for sushi dinner at Fuji. Come home to a magically clean house and a dog. Browse my two favorite things on Instagram (coffee mugs and jewelry). Go to bed early.
the laurel and the linden, l&l studios, local artist, local boutique, small business, small business feature, decatur il, businesses, shop local, decatur shops, sarah jane photography, custom jewelry, custom rings, metal art, custom stained glass, bottle lamps, purses, clothing

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! These features are 100% free and we’d love to feature you next.

Oh boy guys it’s been BUSY around here this summer and that means it has unfortunately been quiet here on the blog. But not to worry we are back up and running and I promise there are some fun sessions headed this way, starting today with a very unique local business located right in downtown Decatur!

The Details: Decatur Coin & Jewelry (Facebook Page) | Bennie & Samantha, Co-Owner | In Business: 44 years (started in 1973)

Hours: Monday 9-4, Tuesday 9-4, Wednesday, 9-4, Thursday 9-7, Friday 9-4 (closed on weekends & closed every day 1-1:30 for lunch) | Location: 104 N Main St, Decatur IL

This shop is full of really unique and interesting pieces both for authentic collectors and those looking for fun and interesting gifts. Who wouldn’t want a one million dollar bill this Christmas!

Tell us about your business….what do you do? We are coin dealers or as we like to say in our industry…Numismatists. We study any and all things about money. We buy and sell money literally! We look at coin collections daily. We help determine value based on age, condition, content and quantity. Maybe try googling numismatics to help you better understand what a numismatist is. We also buy and sell any jewelry that is made of a precious metal: Gold, platinum and silver. We buy diamonds, turquoise jewelry, old vintage costume jewelry, sterling flatware, silver plated flatware, wrist watches, old pocket watches. We have even bought old test mortar rounds before. We were able to find a buyer so we bought them from the client. You just never know what we will buy. We make a living at buying stuff. So, maybe you have some neat old cool stuff laying around your house. Bring it on in and we’ll take a look.

What makes your business unique/special? We buy and sell actual money! We are coin and jewelry dealers. There is nobody else like us around. We explain everything in depth so you get a clear understanding of what is going on. We are qualified traders in medium to high dollar assets.

What item/service on your menu or in your shop do you just love and think everyone needs? Sam says “everyone needs help in understanding what all their stuff is worth. Too many folks just throw stuff out thinking it’s worth nothing. She thinks giving knowledge is what everyone really needs and “A right hand ring of course! Bennie says “investment quality Morgan dollars” Doug says “everybody should have some artistic antique paper money”.

In what way have you gone above /beyond in the past for a customer? Bennie says “we pay out a lot of money. We’ve gone to folk’s houses and looked at their stuff because they couldn’t drive or were too ill to come in”. Doug says “we always help carry in boxes and bags from their vehicles because the stuff is too heavy…so WE GOT THE MUSCLE LOL” Sam says “I’ve fetched someone’s range rover and drove it around to the front of the shop because she was worried she couldn’t get out of the original parking place due to someone parking so close to her”.

What was the coolest thing you’ve ever had a client do for you? Sam says “people have bought my newborn son stuffed animals or clothes. I get hugs often too from some of my regulars OR even strangers”. Doug says “people have brought him in food coupons”. I always call Doug a growing boy still LOL He sure can eat. People will bring in chocolate for Bennie. He is patiently waiting for chocolate covered pretzels from Dells by the way. <<< Yum, me too!

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without? Why? Our customers. They supply us with stuff to either sell into the network, online or across the counter. They provide jobs for us and for the others that work with us. Everybody wins in the end. Without our customers life would be pretty boring! Couldn’t imagine Coney McKanes not being down the street from us. Their pie and cookies are amazing.

What other local businesses do you love? Why? Coney McKanes feeds us often. Really all the local restaurants do☺ All downtown local businesses are great.

STAFF: Samantha is funny and loving but very serious when she needs to be. Doug is referred to as the professor. Don’t call Bennie the boss he doesn’t like that. He prefers to be called the Captain. All the ladies that work with us are leaders.

Tell us about you? Why did you choose to do what you do? I am speaking for us all here when I say we all love and enjoy it because we love serving the community for the greater good. We want to give the people as much money as we can for their stuff.

When did you know you wanted to go into the business? Bennie says “after I found my first Indian head penny while delivering the Grit newspaper door to door years ago when I was just a kid. That is when it all started. Back in those days the ladies at the bank would let me look through all their bags of silver dollars. I probably was a nuisance after a while. My father also used to bring home his pay for the day and put it on the kitchen table. The sound of those silver coins always sparked my interest. I have been driven since then to learn all about numismatics”. Doug says he got into paper money for the art. And an added benefit was investment potential. Sam says” I’ve been looking at coins and jewelry since I was a kid. It was always in me through my father and now we run the business together.

What are you passionate about outside of your business? This is Samantha answering for her father because he is, as usual, extremely busy. He is passionate about teaching. He will give knowledge and wisdom to anyone with an open ear. He likes being physically fit eating healthy and enjoys spending time with his new grandson Jaxon. Sam likes to work in the garden and watch things grow☺ Aside from all the duties that go along with being a happy wife and mother now.

Describe your perfect day… Sam says the beach, a large umbrella, the ocean minus the sharks and being surrounded by the people I love. Bennie says hitting the grand slam in the stock market, making a big trade or riding on a real steam train with my grandson.

See the latest news and items available from Decatur Coin and Jewelry HERE!

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

Tag: businesses

| Decatur IL Small Business Feature | The Laurel & The Linden | Local Artist |

| Decatur Coin & Jewelry | Small Business Feature |