I walked in the little shop hesitantly. The door was open, but the lights were out and behind the counter was a man closing up the register. I asked him if he was closed, and he told me not yet and that we were welcome to look around. Having just moved to New Mexico just months earlier I loved playing tourist and coming down to Old Town Albuquerque just to have a look around. On this particular day I had a girlfriend with me who was visiting from out of town. My family and I had been in the shop before, and loved their products. I assured the man we would be quick and started showing my friend around "selling" her the product, "selling" her the fact that it was made right there in Albuquerque and everything was cut and made by hand. Quickly finding a new critter of my own I proceeded to check out. Little did I know that ten minutes later I would have a new job. The man was behind the counter was the artist and the owner, Gerald Naus and the store's name was Garden Critters. Now almost ten years later I still work for "Jerry" and Julie, not in that little store anymore, but selling our critters wholesale across the country. Jerry liked how I "sold" the product to my friend, asked if I wanted a job and that was it, a relationship and job was born.
The economy has hit us hard. What was once a flourishing tourist mecca, Old Town Albuquerque has now become a ghost town. Stores are closed, including ours. In January Jerry and Julie decided to close up shop and solely concentrate on the Wholesale part of the business. The sad fact is that small little mom and pops close all the time, in fact as I make calls to drum up new business I come across new disconnected numbers everyday. Our store closing was different though, it was close to the heart and it felt similar to your parents selling your old house. Garden Critters was like a home to me and I consider Jerry and Julie my family.
After all how many businesses let you bring a newborn to work or set up a playpen for a toddler because you don't have child care? How many businesses let your little ones come to work with you? When I started Garden Critters on May 22nd, 2002, Sage was exactly three months old. (Sam was just two and Savannah four.) I was still solely nursing her and she wouldn't take a bottle, so her dad would come down on the weekends or weeknights when I was working and I would feed her.
In late 2002 I became pregnant again and my customers watched as my belly grew. They would often stop in to check on me and my bosses would keep a constant supply of water so I wouldn't get dehydrated. My fellow shopkeeping neighbors wouldn't close until I did so I wouldn't be left working alone. I would rarely take a lunch or breaks as I was the only one working the store and would have to close to do so. So instead often spent my lunches chatting with a customer.
Our original store was old. We were not sure exactly how old, but possible 200 plus years. The floors were brick and uneven. The plumbing was tentative and the cockroaches ruled the roost, the toilet, sink and everywhere. One of my favorite stories happened when I was several months pregnant with Saxton. I had just popped a bag of popcorn and set it on the counter. It was around dinner time and I decided to keep the shop open late (this was often the case, we were supposed to close at 5 pm, but I would stay open as long as we had customers, I think my record was past ten o'clock.) Anyway, I ran to the shop next door to let my friend know I was going to stay open longer and by the time I got back, just seconds later, there was a party in my pop-corn bag. I didn't realize this until I reached my hand in and about a half dozen cock-roaches crawled all over it. I screamed so loud that Saxton jumped in my belly and my neighbors came running. Damn cock-roaches.
I loved my fellow shopkeepers. There were about five stores all clustered together at the end of San Felipe. We all kept watch over one another and each other company. When my beloved dog Rockne died (I was also very pregnant during this time) my one neighbor brought me a candle. Months later there was a creepy guy who made some scary advances on me. My other neighbor, cowboy Tom came down and set him straight. My children (all very little at the time) were welcome in their shops and often came out with some sort of prize. Angel Town was right next to me and my friend Loraine kept a constant supply of fairy dust for my little ones. They fed me, cheered me on and gave me the best advice, "all it takes is one good customer, to make one good sale, to make your day."
I had Saxton at the end of July and she came to work with me in August. She was a big hit with the customers and many came just to see her. After all they had gone through my whole pregnancy with me and they considered her one of their own. As did my bosses. They are my family.
They supported me in sales and even my painting. When Sage was just a baby I began getting plain shapes from Jerry, priming them and then painting on them. I asked if I could sell them in the store and not only did he say yes, he was one of my biggest fans. I remember the first thing I painted was this big kokopelli. After I told him what I was thinking of selling it for, he doubled the price. Thinking no one would pay that much I was shocked when just a few hours later this man from D.C. bought it. Jerry was just as excited as I was when I called him to tell him of the sale. From that point on I would often bring my paints to work and paint while it was slow. It became common to see me outside on the curb painting and chatting with people as they passed by. I got a lot of sales this way, getting people to stop and ask questions and then come in the store. It was also a way to make a little extra money during slow times. Thank you Jerry and Julie for not only making me a better sales person, but also an artist.In July 2003 I went with them to my first wholesale show. I remember walking up the booth at the convention center in Las Vegas and my boss Jerry saying to a customer, "here comes my A team." For those of you reading this, who manage others, never underestimate the power of a compliment. I have never forgotten this moment, nor any of the others where my bosses gave me encouragement, praise or compliments. After all I was a mom of four small children most of the time, but at that moment I was someones "A team."
I loved the shows. We worked hard and had a lot of fun. Often times people would ask if were family, and I began to say "yes, these are my adoptive parents." We did shows in Vegas, L.A., Dallas and Sevierville TN (where Julie and I took on the tradition of a shot of Moonshine). At the end of the day we would meet somewhere and chat about the shows and life. They would worry about me when I went out on my own to explore L.A. or whatever city we were in and they would take care of me to make sure I had a nice place to stay and a full belly.
We finished early setting up one time and headed to Venice beach. What fun we had people watching at dinner and on the beach. They even partook in my traditional feet-in-the-ocean-shot. If I remember right, I think Jerry even helped scare a bunch of seagulls so I could get a cool picture.
Funny enough, no matter how the show went, or how late we worked or how long, we always had fun. Things at home were not always great, it was tough being a mom of four small babies and trying to make a marriage work. But at the trade shows I was able to be me. I had some independence and time to shine. I was able to meet new people and gain experience in the art of a sale.
I know not many businesses are like ours, I know not many bosses are like mine. When I moved from New Mexico to Colorado and then to Washington, Garden Critters came with me. I was able to continue sales and even some shows. I was even able to come back and work at my beloved shop.
Sage and Saxton were not the only newborns to come to work with mom. So did Max. In October 2010, at just a few months old, he helped me work Balloon Fiesta week and last August at just over a year, he hung out with me and brought the old playpen-at-work back to Garden Critters. Julie and Jerry didn't care, they supported me. Julie even saved the day during Balloon Fiesta and came in right as Max had a blow-out diaper that required an entire change and wipe down. I think it even made it to the floor. She didn't care, just helped clean it up. Jerry and Julie are good people. They are fair and have always been an example of integrity in my eyes. One of my favorite stories that exemplifies this is when one of my stores called me and told me they couldn't pay their bill. The owner owed us several hundred dollars and was in tears because she couldn't pay it. I listened as she vented about poor sales and a worsening economy (this was over five years ago and I could see the recession then.) I called Julie and told her the story and instead of getting upset or telling me to get collections involved, she told me to see if she could pay $50 a month. I called her back and presented this to her. She was so grateful that she broke down in tears again and over time she paid back every dime. People often said when I told them that story that they would have called a collection agency, but we didn't, in fact I don't think we ever have. Now that same shop owner is back on her feet and back in business with us. A little example of not burning bridges.
While I lived in New Mexico, I was also working for a non-profit, The Rio Rancho Education Foundation. Every year we had a major fundraiser and Jerry and Julie helped support both my live and silent auction by both giving me plain steel to paint on and items from the store. One year they even made several dozen chairs for our sponsorship gifts. We aren't a big corporation with money to spare, but that never mattered, they always were willing to donate when asked.
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