Meet Cindy Conner!

(Cindy on the far right, with daughters Abbie and Lindsay and mom Marilyn)

When Luke and I started Pretty in Paint, we knew the Lord was calling us to take a big risk! Now, we are entering a new season, with new risks, and we couldn't be happier to be passing the baton to Cindy Conner, who is buying the shop. She is a light and a joy to those around her, and we feel confident those things will spill over into her future ownership of the store. We talked with Cindy recently, because we wanted to share some of her heart here on the blog. We also wanted our readers to get to know her, before they see her friendly face in the shop!

Why did you decide now was the right time to pursue this change?

     

If anyone had told me even a few months ago that I would be in the throes of buying a business today, I would literally have laughed out loud.  While I've entertained thoughts of creating a business that carried on where our Barnstormer event left off, everything I wanted always ended up too similar to Pretty in Paint.  Mindy and Luke are my friends and I never wanted to be in any kind of competition with them. My heart was incredulous that this is the right time, and it quickly became evident to me that God was calling me to something I never saw coming. I had to be obedient and jump off that proverbial cliff in faith.....it was nothing short of terrifying.  I don't do things like this, I'm much more of a dreamer than an actual doer.  This is eons beyond my comfort zone. So while I was physically screaming NOOOO, my heart was saying 'I think you can do this'!

What are you most excited for in the future of the store?

The foundations that Mindy and Luke have laid will not change, and that has me excited. The other aspect would be relationships. As I've been in the store the last several days learning the daily operations, it's been especially gratifying to meet so many people.  I'm excited to see how these relationships will grow. I'm also excited about our team of employees.  Jami, Lynda and Tami are staying on, and I love these women. I'm incredibly happy to also get to work with my own family.  My daughter Abbie is going to be our manager, and Lindsay is feverishly working to get the website up and running, while expanding our online sales.  Heather (the current manager) has been so gracious and loving as she imparts so much wisdom, and is tirelessly training Abbie and myself.   

Can you briefly describe your journey to this point in your life?

     

I've spent my life raising our five wonderful kids. Those kids have now blessed us with twelve grandkids, and in May, we will welcome our very first great-grandchild. My husband helps fight firefighters with an airplane, and flies warbirds in his spare time. Seven years ago, we bought my husband's family farm, and I have logged quite a few hours on tractors and digging irrigation line...becoming a shopkeeper is going to be a huge and welcome change. My daughter Lindsay (McPhail) and I started Barnstormers Vintage Fair in 2012 - it is a family affair managed now with the help of daughter Abbie (Lasota) and granddaughter Morgan(DiBetta), and my mother in law Marilyn (Conner), as well as close family friends Dawn and Kyndall Wiley.  We are strong women with a heart for other women.  It makes perfect sense to me now that Pretty in Paint will be our next step, and I know the skills I have learned in the last several years will make the transition a great one. 

  

Any scripture or quotes you'd like to share that pertain to this journey?

I always feel a bit ashamed when I'm surprised by God. Our finite spirits tend to try to contain Him, even limit Him. About midway through our journey, Mindy and I had a similar experience on the same day.  She had an actual dream about Abraham and Isaac. I had more of a daydream about Sarah and her reaction when she was told she would have a baby.  Sarah didn't lack faith in what God could do, but she did doubt what He could do through her.  I am at a point in my life where I'm almost ready for social security.  My friends are talking of retiring and here God has presented me with this "baby" and I'm going to work full-time.  I think the appropriate verse would be Genesis 18:12 (NLT) So she laughed silently to herself and said "How can a worn out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my husband is also old."  This truly does make my husband and I laugh.  We are relieved God has called us to buy a business, rather than a have a baby!

What should customers know as this change takes place?

I feel incredibly honored that Mindy is going to stand close by for awhile, and teach me about ordering/inventory, and our inventory will remain the same, trusted items that you know and love! I am also happy to hear new ideas about things that people hope to see in the store, and I will be in the store nearly everyday. I believe the community and culture that Mindy has started is so important.  Women need other women.  There is so much ugliness and hatefulness in this world.  I am proud to take ownership in something aesthetically pleasing, but also  something that has a heart rooted in ministry. I hope it always feels like a safe place where a person will always know they are welcome.  The shop sells things that help people make their house a home, where they gather together with family and friends and sometimes even strangers, and that's called hospitality.  Relationship starts with hospitality and I want hospitality to be instant when a person steps through the door...I am so thrilled to be buying the store!

Meet Heather from Gather Here

We are continuing our series of highlighting some of our favorite vendors from the shop, with Heather from Gather Here! Besides being an amazing vendor, Heather has also graced us with her presence as the manager of Pretty in Paint for the last five years. She has an enormous heart for people and ministry, and she blesses everyone who comes through our door. "Daniel and I have been married for twenty three years, and had joyously raised four kids. When we thought life couldn't get any better, we became grandparents. Gathering as a family is our favorite part of any day", explains Heather, "We love building furniture, and bringing life to old pieces. We also are passionate about taking old, forgotten 

wood and making one of a kind pieces for you and and your family!"

Heather adds that their beliefs have always centered around finding meaning and hope in all circumstances, whether they are adventures or heartaches. They also love and value the idea of "gathering" with family and loved ones, and hope their furniture pieces can enable others to do the same. "I have had the honor of managing Pretty in Paint, and being part of the small business that is serving our community and loving people has given me great insight on how a business should run. The Jones family has always placed Christ at the center, and made people a priority", continues Heather, "We share their vision, and we share the love of Jesus as we get to do what we love." One of their favorite things to build are tables, where families can gather to work, fellowship, or share a meal. Every piece that is produced by Gather Here is crafted with love and purpose, and that's what makes them special. They also utilize reclaimed wood, which means every piece is also unique and unlike anything else that is mass-produced. Their tables and large pieces are made to last, and can be passed down from generation to generation, making them a true heirloom. 

If you're interested, you can find Heather and Daniel's unique furniture pieces at Pretty in Paint, and you can follow them on Instagram HERE. Lastly, Heather adds, "In five years, we hope to still be doing what Christ has called us to, no matter the risk!" 

Introducing 4 Wall Revival!

Our story has always centered around redemption. Bringing life where things were dead, breathing new life into spaces, giving fresh perspective to places where people have lost hope. So, it makes sense that our latest project would involve breathing new life into homes and buildings...meet 4 Wall Revival. We are launching in 2018, and we will be renovating old houses, as well as making new designs from old furniture. 

Why renovation and restoration? We have a true passion for real estate and design. We used to build and sell homes during the early 2000's, and we loved it! My husband, Luke, has kept his general contractor's license active since 2002, and we have been waiting for the right time to enter the market while maintaining our love for furniture, as well. 

What will you be focused on? We can't wait to begin renovating homes that need quite a lot of love, and then offering them at an affordable price. Besides this primary focus, we will also be building and renovating furniture pieces. We will be utilizing our background in retail (running Pretty in Paint) to renovate, design, and stage the homes we will sell as 4 Wall Revival. At this stage, we are searching for homes in the Southern Oregon area, and will keep you posted with our progress! 

What do you want people to love about your brand? When people think about our 'revival' projects, I hope that can capture our vision; to see forgotten, dilapidated homes become a beloved and beautiful space. Also, we hope our audience can see our eye for artful design, high-quality craftsmanship, and current style trends. We hope to become a leader in the home market in Southern Oregon. 

What's next? You can find us on our new blog, which we will be revealing soon, and which will feature DIY tutorials, tons of before and after photos for inspiration, and design ideas. Thanks for following our journey, and you can follow along on our Instagram HERE!

Our Celebration Sales - Medford, Oregon Home Store

"A community is a place where everyone feels welcome, and where it feels like home every single day.  It is here that we find our closest connections, if only we will reach out our hands to one another" -Unknown 

We feel very blessed to be part of a close-knit community of people here in our corner of Southern Oregon. They have rallied around our shop, bolstered us when our energy was low or we were discouraged, and they have been the reason we have seen such incredible growth. I think people have really caught our personal vision for the store, and why we are here, and that is so encouraging. Each year, we love to reward our amazing customers and friends with a great Black Friday/Small Business Saturday sale, and this year was no different! Since we really believe in the power of community and small businesses, we make a big deal of Small Business Saturday, but both days held great prices and
fun perks for everyone who came to the store!

At 10am on Black Friday, we had a scratch-and-dent sale in our parking lot. This was the perfect chance for customers to get items at amazing discounts, and we had special guests JAM Coffee serving up plenty of hot drinks for the chilly temps (You can check out their handcrafted coffee and specialty drinks anytime at 507 North Main Street in Phoenix, Oregon). We had lots of friends stop by for our sale, AND they brought their friends, too! We hosted over 500 people for our parking lot sale, and KOBI even featured us in a small video, which you can watch HERE on our Instagram page.

But, the real fun was still to come for our huge Saturday sale, where we featured free gifts with purchase (adorable mugs seen at right), a mobile bar with adult Christmas drinks by HJB (another locally owned business, complimentary BBQ lunch, and live music! In addition, we also had plenty of hot cocoa and coffee from JAM, as well as gourmet baked goods from the Bakehouse. Best of all, we offered a whopping 20% discount on everything in store!

To catch all the fun, you can watch the amazing video (video by Shawn Adams) below:


Pretty in Paint 11-2017 from Shawn Adams on Vimeo.

We feel so grateful for the support, unending loyalty, and joy that our community and customers bring us. Thank you so much!

Blog Update! -Southern Oregon Home Store and Design Blog

You may have noticed we had been a bit absent from the blogosphere for awhile (thank you for reading and sharing our last DIY post this month!), but we had a pretty great reason: our little shop grew and grew, and before I knew it, years had passed us by in a whirlwind of blessing, challenges, and joy. Now, we are blogging again consistently, and I wanted to share some of my heart as we get back into it! So why now? We love reading blogs! We draw inspiration from blogs about faith, family, interior design, and more, and we always want to gain more insight about life from other's experiences. We hope this blog can be an encouragement to you and your family and friends!

In the past years since we opened our shop, so much has changed. We started out small, with just a little bit of inventory, and it grew at a rapid pace. We doubled in size, and now have a bookkeeper and nine amazing employees, and a delivery driver. We even have people in our warehouse, and it's turned into a full-time company. Of course, there have been growing pains involved, but ultimately, we feel so grateful and supported by our Southern Oregon community. We also love our employees, and we wouldn't be where we are today without the Smith family. They always help us in every way possible! My mom pitches in with shipping and receiving, and she is unbelievably efficient. Jami helps bring order to our chaos, and Jill is hilarious and brings her infectious laughter along with her sweet spirit. We also have Tami, who loves people so deeply and well, and Isabel who helps us learn how to use new social media. We will also be introducing them individually here on the blog over the next few months, so you can get to know the people we consider 'family' now.

And while some things have changed, others have not. We always put God first, and love people. We adore jumping into new adventures, but always seek His will and watch Him provide the way. Our mission also hasn't changed: we want our store to be an affordable, beautiful, inviting place for women to come shop and relax. We want our customers to feel "heard", and to know they can always ask us for tips, or help choosing a piece for their home. We also love offering small businesses a place to sell their hand-made items, and we believe in bolstering our local economy and helping each other!

What will you find here on this blog? Stay tuned for special events, faith-related encouragement, news, updates, design inspiration, and most importantly, DIY projects! We are so glad you're here!

Love, Mindy