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Show Heart Strings will strum again in Bountiful Monday --i--.:; ' -"Hi ' "V - -, ' ;- ' . - ' "' ' ,- I': J ' ' J ' ' 1 .- - ' I J By G.BRETT HART After surviving an arson-caused 2r blaze that almost devastated the 3 business two months ago, the Boun- z tiful-based Heart Strings will begin - to strum, again opening its doors I Oct. 15. Heart Strings' owners describe Z their business this way, r "Handcrafted collectibles from our r heart to yours. The business is t unique because it is run by 20 ladies who have joined forces in a type of co-op essentially becoming manufacturers, owners and employees of their own business. s Each member of the co-op con- - tributes time and effort to the busi-r busi-r ness, and, most importantly, talent. ; Each manufactures her own special z product for sale through the co-op which is centered in a small, reno-r reno-r vated home at 161 N. Main. z Member Lucy Ashton said, "In the co-op, everyone has a turn working in the store a couple days a month and supplying goods such as floral arrangements, dolls, hand- painted wood, calligraphy, etc. to be sold. "It's a good business for us," said Ashton. "We're unique in that 1 I don't know of anywhere else you r i. can find 20 women working together doing what they love. ' ' Not only do shoppers have the opportunity to browse through hundreds hun-dreds and hundreds of handcrafted knick knacks, but consumers also have the opportunity to meet the manufacturers of the products. "When shoppers come in and see something they like," said Ashton, "if the item isn't exactly what they want or if the colors are different, the shopper can explain exactly what it is she wants to the person who makes the item, and it will be specially made for her. ' Ashton describes the shop's wares as quality handcrafted items at a reasonable price. "Instead of increasing the price in order to pay someone else to sell our things for us, we can sell them ourselves in our own shop and keep the prices lower," said Ashton. "We can sell things for less than other shops because we are bringing things to the consumer straight from the artist. We only mark things up enough to cover our own costs and the cost to run the shop." Ashton said her group began forming through a network of ladies that became associated with one another through different craft stores in the area. "When the opportunity to rent a place in downtown Bountiful came along, we jumped on it," said Ashton. "We wanted to provide quality things in the downtown area to attract business to it. We attract a . Heart Strings is located at 161 N. Main in Bountiful. After a two-month two-month lay off caused by a fire, Heart Strings will reopen its doors Oct. 15. lot of shoppers to the downtown area. We have open houses every six months. "We will hold our grand opening Oct 25 through 27 and a Christmas open house in November," said Ashton. "Everybody in Bountiful has been terrific to us," said Ashton. "People love our shop and we hated to close for two months. We're coming back Monday. We didn't fold up just because of the fire. We're looking forward to being be-ing open again," said Ashton. Heart Strings is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. During its three-day grand opening, the store will remain open until 8 p.m. Heart Strings' credo, "Handcrafted Collectibles from our heart to yours" rings true as one browses through its homemade knick knacks. "-- i ' 1 - 1 f ,-- I yfi ' i ' v ' i 1 if - A ' M i f i BBaahtffeaiaBMaatfMtfihBr aaaBritfAkHjHiaiHMaiiiaMBHMBMaKBsafeBMflBatffcBB i.i"BaaaBBw : Heart Strings coop members work as manufacturers, owners and employees. Pictured above, (Left to right) Sher Smart, ; Lucy Ashton (sitting), Julie Bowers and Linda Baumgart. |