Getting to Know the Simon Says Stamp Family

We thought that since we are finally (mostly! except we need more ART on our walls!) finished with our BIG MOVE...it was time to allow you to get to know the Simon Says Stamp Family a little bit better.

First off, we truly are a family business. Not only are my husband and I involved, but so are our children. In fact, I think it's safe to say that each of our team members would call one another family. We share recipes, ideas, life's joys, lunches, smiles, laughter, and even a sturdy shoulder to lean on!

The above photo is of our son, Jaxon. He loves coming to the warehouse. In March when we moved, it was a place to FINALLY ride his Buzz Lightyear bike Santa brought at Christmas. In the below picture you can see it in the background.

Additionally, on Fridays, I bring our (now 7 weeks old) baby, Abby, into the offices with me. Right now she sleeps most of the day strapped to me in a Baby Bjourne. Since I work through most weekends, I make Friday an easier work day, and....it's hard for me to be away from the office. Truly, I LOVE It HERE!


My husband, Jason, and I knew that eventually we would want him to join Simon full time. He has been working behind the scenes for YEARS. This past spring, with baby Abby coming and the business growing, we decided it was the time. Why wait until we are old and gray? (Ok, until I am old and gray because HE already does have a few gray hairs...I think I gave them to him over the years!) So in April, Jason joined our team full time. He is here for day to day operations and is our Director. I cannot think of a more appropriate term! You name it, HE DOES IT! Thank goodness he is not afraid to dig in. AND THAT IS TOUGH in a business that has 12 women here all day every day (13 if you count Abby on Fridays!)

Below is a picture of Jason meeting with Sarah (on the left) and Michelle to review Social Media planning.

We are SO LUCKY with our new warehouse that Jason found! Only those that saw how crammed we were in our last space could truly understand the luxury of space in this one! We were climbing all over each other before. This new space is exactly what we needed to give our team room to work and our business room to grow and store the best products in the market for our devoted customers. Seriously, we are in a major city, Columbus...but you would NEVER know it. Somehow, there is a patch of woods right off a major highway and this amazing building on an amazing plot of land that the original owners since 1949 are allowing us to rent!

Our landlord Bob, is just one heck of a good dude! It is gorgeous here. THE WILD LIFE! Have you seen the pictures of the fox, heron, deer, ducks and MORE that we've posted on twitter? .... Michelle will kill me if I don't remind you here.... FOLLOW us on Twitter ;) We are Simon Says Stamp and as our Win It on Wednesdays winners today will tell you- following us is loads of fun ;) This stream literally lines our parking lot and we can see it from all of our windows!



Please note that I had the BEST intentions today to get great photos of EVERYONE HERE! However, I did not manage to do that successfully - so it was decided that this would be the first part of a multiple part "Getting to Know Simon" installment. Please know that the pictures here are of no particular importance...just the ones I could get today. Throughout the coming weeks I hope to feature the rest of our Simon Team.

Below is Tiffany HARD at work doing customer service. Back in the old days, I used to try to do it all by myself. Thank God for Tiffany! I was getting too swamped to do a good job and give service the attention it needed and deserves. Tiffany ran her family business for years and totally understands small business mentality. She works SO HARD for our customers and puts her whole heart into it! Her love for paper crafting makes Tiffany the perfect fit to teach our Employee Education classes too!

Many of you probably already know Sarah. She regularly contributes to our blog. Her creative writing talent is a highly appreciated skill at Simon. Sarah LOVES Coffee, has the sweetest smile, and is a hard and dedicated worker! Notice that Sarah's walls are white behind her- BUT THAT's BECAUSE there is the most amazing pair of paintings SHE DID HERSELF over the weekend on the wall next to her. I'm going to give her the pleasure of blogging the images herself. They are seriously DELIGHTFUL! Hi Sarah!



I snapped a quick one of Reba walking through! Hi Reba! Reba handles our logistics and she makes sure your orders get out the doors as quickly as possible. We love her charming southern accent! Don't let it fool you though... Reba means business and makes it her business to be sure your orders get out the door as quickly as possible. We LOVE how much Reba CARES! Her son is getting married in a few months and it's an amazing journey for Reba helping to plan it from several states away.

Check out Michelle in one of our Employee Education Classes! She is focusing on Hero Arts Gems. Michelle came to us straight from the University of Cincinnati. She has a fresh energy and bright smile. Always wanting to learn more, Michelle is honing her skills managing a new line to our store, Letraset Promarkers. She is also working to get all of Ali Edward's stamp sets into Simon. Michelle will probably kill me for telling you this...but the day before her second job interview here, her mom stopped in to check things out. DON'T YOU JUST LOVE THAT? She comes from a GREAT family.

Our cheery buddy Liz is below showing off the Easter eggs we made this Spring. Hard boiled eggs adorned with Hero Arts gems were quite the attraction at Simon this year. Liz is the quickest learner I ever met. She fills in literally ANYWHERE we need her at Simon, all the while totally managing huge brands like House Mouse and Martha Stewart. Oh yeah, she manages training our newbies too! I seriously think that she has found some secret way to create more hours in the day. Hopefully one day maybe she can tell the rest of us the secret! She is a Lacrosse and Field hockey standout and played at Ohio Wesleyan University and volunteers every Saturday at Cozy Cat Cottage Shelter. How sweet is that!?

Stephanie is our design expert and loves color! We had the walls in her office painted in her honor. Stephanie is a huge Ohio State fan (and Alum). Steph has witnessed more than anybody (except Jason) how far Simon has come through the years. We honor her for hanging in there with us through growing pains and for celebrating the goodness of it all too! If you see something cutesy in our store, it was probably brought here by Stephanie. Copic Markers, Magnolia stamps, My Favorite things, We R Memory Keepers, Lawn Fawn, and The Greeting Farm are just a sampling of the brands Stephanie manages. In addition, she handles our two design Teams: Simon's Stamp and Show Challenge blog and Simon's Challenge blog

Speaking of our Design Teams, meet Lorraine! Lorraine (Lols) and I go waaaay back. Have you "met" someone on the internet and formed an instant connection? That's how I felt with Lorraine (oh yeah, and my match.com husband too!) She has managed and directed our Original Challenge blog AND Design team since DAY 1. God love her! If Lorraine doesn't have an answer, SHE GETS IT! and....in her special Lorraine way, if I forget to respond to something... she reminds me persistently and gently. You would think after years of doing this, she would grow tired of it, but you would never know it. She is patient and hard working and loyal to a "T". As a former midwife, Lorraine from across the world has comforted me through a devastating miscarriage. In addition, she also has been able to celebrate the great joys of giving birth to my new baby girl. I sent her video from my hospital room to share the special day! We had the great heartfelt hug upon finally meeting her in person at CHA Winter this year.



I hope you've enjoyed getting to know these fabulous folks a little bit. Please pardon my wordiness. Do you have any requests or something you'd like to know about us? It will help give direction to our "Getting to Know Simon" series. We'd LOVE to hear from YOU!

Big Hugs!!!
Heidi

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