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 The following day, Saturday, February 2nd the
business will host an open house with drawings and prizes.
Small Town Creations is not a new business in Lincoln, the owner
Kathie Williams with her “silent” partner Jim, began the paint party
business in their home in 2016. Their unique concept to paint
parties quickly grew in popularity and within just a little over a
year they outgrew their home and moved into a store front on
Sangamon Street. The business continued to do well in the new
locations and the Williams’ were happy with the decisions they had
made.
Then, last year they took a giant leap, expanding their business to
include the offerings of two local businesses that were closing.
Kathie Williams said that she and her husband knew that The Award
Shop was closing and they had seen on social media that the business
was for sale. They began talking about buying the business, and soon
made some inquiries to sellers Vicki and Dave Purcell. While that
part was planned so to speak, the next thing that happened was kind
of out of the blue. Kathie said within 2 days of their decision to
look into acquiring The Award Shop they were contacted by David
Lanterman about Beans and Such.
Beans and Such has been a popular location on the Historic Lincoln
Downtown Square for decades. Offering custom flavored coffees along
with a wide variety of upscale home décor items, the business is
popular among local shoppers as well as out of town visitors.
Williams said that was a surprise, but one well worth considering.
She and Jim talked about it, prayed about and in the end decided to
go for it. They could combine the three businesses – Beans & Such,
Small Town Creations and The Award Shop, and relocate into the
well-established location on the square.
Williams said that in addition to expanding diversity to their
business, they felt they were maintaining some local offerings that
were important to the community.
She noted that The Award Shop was the only business of its kind in
Logan County. She and Jim felt that it was important to keep the
business going and to provide buyers the opportunity to purchase
their custom made plaques and trophies locally instead of having to
go out of town and even out of the county.
Beans & Such was another unique business in the city and they soon
realized that again, they wanted to keep it going. Williams knew
they were right to do so when they first took over and many folks
stopped by concerned that Small Town Creations would do away with
the custom coffees. Williams said that not only does she plan to
keep the coffees, she is also planning some expansion in that area.
So, area shoppers rest assured, your Beans & Such coffee will still
be available in the future.
Williams said that the future of the business is looking good. She
is excited about growing all three aspects of the business and
looking forward to doing some remodeling in the back portion of the
building.
While regular Beans & Such shoppers will feel right
at home as they step inside and find the front room décor and the
merchandise offered practically the same as always, they will also
be surprised to find that the building is much larger than that
first room and the three businesses combined into one will still
have some definite separation.
Guests will pass through the original display area
and find the second room where the business will hold its paint
parties.
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Pass through that room and walk through the glass
French doors and enter the world of the Award Shop.
In the front part of the store, Williams reiterated that many of the
same offerings will continue to be there including the coffees and
collectibles and home décor. But, she hopes to expand on some of
these things. She noted that “Farmhouse” style décor is very popular
and she plans to expand the offerings of the rustic country feel
products. She also hopes to expand the coffee and will be doing
promotions such as “Flavor of the month.” She intends to post fun
little quotes inside the store with the hopes that folks will stop
by and check them out on a regular basis.
Williams noted that in the near future, the Beans & Such name will
go away. Right now the Beans & Such name is still on the front
window of the shop along with the Small Town Creations name.
Williams said they decided to keep the name on the front of the
building for a while to help people know that the shop they were
accustomed to is still there. She said she felt it would help the
public with the transition for now, as shoppers are getting used to
the new name. The Beans & Such name will be taken down as soon as
the weather is fit to do so.
Also, in the front part of the shop, Williams noted that the
offerings are very high end and she wants to maintain the beautiful
quality lines the store now offers, but she also wants to look for
and offer items that are still high quality but offer shoppers a
variety of price levels.
The paint parties will continue on as they always have. Williams
said that part of the popularity of their paint parties comes from
the methods the guests may use to create their personalized art. She
noted that while many popular party plans include free-hand drawing
and painting on canvas, Small Town Creations offers custom designs
created with vinyl stencils. Even those who are not artistic can
enjoy the party, and make a lovely item to take home or give as a
gift.
While on most days the only one ‘manning’ the shop is Kathie, family
does play a big part in the business. Between the two of them Jim
and Kathie have four daughters - Katie, Rachael, Alexis and Kaycee.
Jim works full time in Bloomington, but plays a big part in the
success of the paint parties. Alexis and Kaycee also help out during
the parties alongside Kathie and Jim. Katie and Rachel do not live
in the area, but when they are in Lincoln, they help out where
needed, and always led their moral support to the family business.
The Williams’ are excited about this new opportunity they have to
keep local businesses growing in Lincoln. Kathie noted that for her,
one of the most important parts of taking on the two additional
businesses was the thought of continuing to offer popular products
and keeping shoppers in town. She said that as a native of Logan
County, she wants to see her community thrive and to do so, the
downtown businesses are extremely important. She hopes that people
will continue to support Small Town Creations in the same wonderful
way it has since 2016.
Small Town Creations is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Everyone is invited to attend the ribbon cutting on February 1st at
4 p.m. and to also come back on the Saturday for the open house.
Williams noted that among the prizes that will be given away on the
second will be a grand prize gift of one pound of coffee per month
for a year. For the coffee lover, that is a wonderful gift, and we
hope many will stop in and enter to win!
[Nila Smith] |
