REPRINTED from Thursday, May 13, 2010
reborn
when christy & i first opened pink tomato, there was one common thread in our vision of what pink tomato should be. or rather what it shouldn't be.
as we toiled over what to merchandise our shop with, knowing what we wanted to be when we grew up, we did know that we needed to start with the basics to create the foot traffic we needed to put us on the map. but with every 12x12 piece of paper we put on the shelves, we kept telling ourselves: "...we are NOT a scrapbook store...we are NOT a scrapbook store..."
with clear vision and an ecclectic mix of unique papers, accessories, stationery, and gift items, we forged ahead carving our niche.
with christy's background in marketing & painting and my experience in both sides of retail & design & graphics, within a few fast months, we morphed our shop into a full design studio, wrapping our heads around the wedding industry. more specifically...custom designed and handcrafted wedding & event invitations and stationery.
it all began with with the gal that hated her internet purchased wedding invitations and needed our help to "fix them up". and then there was the local gal who wanted help making her own invitations...
it was our AH-HA moment. it was the moment that said, "...hey guys, you can actually pay your rent doing this for people!..."
the past 20+ years of my own experiences flashed before my eyes and fell down in front of me in this nicely wrapped package with a big pink bow: working with major retailers and resources around the world; designing packaging & logos for our own in-house brands; knowing illustrator & photoshop; knowing about vendors from my previous business experiences; my experience working on a design team for a major paper company and lastly creating invitations for friends & family over the years . the perfect recipe to build a successful business. it was all right there in front of us. right at our fingertips. literally.
after convincing christy this was our destiny, (lol, and sometimes she can be a tough cookie to crack) we decided in september of 08, to put ourselves OUT THERE. we signed up for and attended all the bridal shows we could find in our area. we signed on with
their products & designs and high quality standards were perfect for what we wanted to do.
we have been R E B O R N.
and we love what we have become. it was always there. we just needed to peel back the layers to find it. we've added product diversity, we've added wedding albums from several major companies, we merged with AROMA LAB, our in-studio DIY fragrance counter.
many MANY brides later, pink tomato still has 12x12 scrapbook paper on the shelves, but our attitude screams - WE ARE MUCH MORE THAN THAT!
just press your noses to the windows and look inside. we'll wash them later...
