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Show ? The Spinning Wheel has , turned for twenty years f i 111!!!! " - 4 I I v - i I -.. - ... . . ... . - The Spinning Wheel was originally located on Main Street at 76 South. The store opened officially July 31, 1970. Now, located in the Five Points Shopping Center, the Spinning Wheel caters to customers who come from all over the country according to Jeneel Johnson, owner. l Jt tdfA - i : ; ,J V- H'. S 4aWm. . . ... ' - J H 2 . 0 - - - 1 By G. BRETT HART I BOUNTIFUL-In todays roUer , coaster economy, starting a new ' ' business is risky at best Most family fami-ly businesses are lucky to stay afloat for more than a few years. However, once in a while, a business busi-ness comes along that, with a combination com-bination of hard work and luck, manages to beat the odds. 20 Bountiful The Spinning Wheel v is one such business. t,n The Spinning Wheel, located in r' the 5-Points Mall, is a needlepoint store that was started 20 years ago as a joke between two friends, :-: Jeneel Johnson and Shirley Eggin-ton. Eggin-ton. 4 'My close friend Shirley had r always wanted a shop, and one day, we laughed that if we were ever going go-ing to find the kind of needlework we wanted to do, we would have to L start our own shop," said Johnson. "We got excited about it, and our : husbands thought is was really a : ' good idea. They were the ones who pushed us to go further than just ; thinking about it. We went to the bank, and before you knew it we were in business." Although Johnson admits that the business started out as a joke, she feels that it is anything but a joke now. "We are probably one of the most recognized needlework stores in the industry from the manufacturers manufac-turers standpoint "They come to us when they need to know things because they know we ' ve been around long enough to know what's going on.' Egginton sold her portion of the business to Johnson a few years after it was started, due to poor health, but the two are still close ; friends. . "We started out as a small, full-i full-i line needlework shop,' explained Johnson. "After we'd been open t for two months we had to expand." Those first two months were only a glimpse of the future growth and expansion the Spinning Wheel would experience over the next 20 I years. The shop moved to 133 North for the last five years, it has been slow." Johnson said that counted cross stitch has seen tremendous growth over the last 20 years. "Counted cross stitch is a type of needlework that had been around for years but had not been merchandised. mer-chandised. "I've seen it grow from absolutely absolute-ly nothing to one of the largest parts of the needlework industry. "They said for the last five or six years that it would go flat and die because most forms of needlework do. But we are still getting new customers who have never done it before. It's still growing.' According to Johnson the yam industry has come full cycle since she began. "Our yarn was flat for a long time. We used to sell the biggest share of our yam for afghans. The last five years people haven't been making afghans, until last fall. It was like someone turned the light on and all of a sudden everyone was making them. ' Johnson attributes the change to the growing popularity of afghans among decorators, but added, "If anyone in this industry knew what triggered women, we'd all be millionaires. "The biggest problem we had when afghans started coming back was that people couldn't find the colors they wanted in their homes. We were instrumental with two companies, Patonn and Brunswick, in getting some decorator colors for afghans. We told them what colors we needed, and they listened to us, said Johnson. Johnson admits that not many independent in-dependent needlework stores stay in business for long. She knows of only two in Utah that have been in business longer than the Spinning Wheel. Johnson's husband has advocated ad-vocated the idea of opening additional addi-tional stores but Johnson said she doesn't want to work that hard. "It's a hard business. Our staff has to be experienced and has to like people." Johnson explained that one benefit of being in the needlework business is that people who do needlework are honest. "We very seldom get a bad check, Needlework people are creative, happy and never bored, according to Johnson. To celebrate their 20th anniversary. The Spinning Wheel will hold a birthday party sale Aug. 28 through Sept. 1, featuring discounts dis-counts between 20 and 50 percent off the regular prices of everything in the store. The Sept. 1 celebration will also feature , a 'knit fashion show and seminar in the 5-Points Mall next to their shop. "I don't know if we'll ever have a 40th anniversary; I'm getting old," explained Johnson with a smile. Jeneel Johnson has watched her business grow for twenty years. During that time she has never forgotten her secret for success, service and fun. Johnson said that from the very beginning, she and her staff have tried to treat the customer as if they were in their own home. Bangerter has managed the shop for two years. Johnson attributes the success of her shop and the loyalty of her customers to the service her staff can provide. "From the very beginning we've tried to treat the customer as if they were in our own home. The reason we've made it is because we are so service oriented, and the customer has come to rely on that. We try to listen to the customer and get the kinds of things they want. We've always had a good relationship with other needlework stores. If we don't have it, we call around and try to find it for our customer. ' The needlework business goes in cycles, forcing Johnson to constantly constant-ly keep up with the trends. "When we first started, yam was the big thing. People were making fish net vests. It was hard to get yam. It was going off the shelf as fast as it was coming in. Manufacturers Manufac-turers couldn't keep up with it. "Needlepoint was also big. But Main a few years after opening July 31,1970 at 76 South Main. Six years later the shop became a part of the 5-Points Mall. Twenty years after the Spinning Wheel's grand opening, fashions have changed, colors have changed and the materials have changed. But, in the face of all this change, two things have remained constant. According to Johnson, the Spinning Wheel is based on service and fun and still serves many of the same customers that signed its original, grand opening guest register 20 years ago. Johnson now runs the business with the help of her manager Sharon Bangerter. T; m j i up .mi 1 1 nip .in ii w '"pi ' 'r'" 1 """""T :; f 4 - 4 1 i ' 1 X 4 - ' 5 & ,.. ''''''- '" ' 5 1 :i i f ' ' ' ' j 3 : Twenty years can bring a lot of changes. Jeneel Johnson (left) : and partner Shirley Egginton started The Spinning Wheel 20 : years ago as a joke. They joked that if they ever wanted to find : the needle work they wanted to do, they would have to start : their own store. So, they did. |