Grand opening planned this afternoon
by Mary Rupert
A home-based business, Creative Expressions Inc., was doing so well last year that two area women decided to expand it.
“Last year, our orders and classes had grown to a size we couldn’t manage inside our homes, so we decided to step on the ledge, go big or go home,” co-owner Ashley Roberts said. “We got a shop.”
In April, they moved their home-based business into a shop at 8833 State Ave., Suite 3, in Kansas City, Kan., where they will have more space. They will have a grand opening from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25. There will be refreshments at the grand opening.
Roberts, 25, a partner in Creative Expressions Inc. with Beth Salazar, 41, said Salazar started the business seven years ago and Roberts became a business partner two years ago.
The shop will offer items for sale, will be the host for birthday parties, bridal showers and baby showers, and will be the host for a variety of creative classes, according to Roberts. They also make custom T-shirts and custom vinyl signs for sale.
The shop can provide all the food, the plates and decorations for parties, she said. They can even make the event into a craft session for kids, by supplying cupcakes and letting children frost and decorate them.
For people who like to do crafts and socialize, there will be a “girls’ night out” type of crafts workshop offered on the fourth Thursday of the month, with two to three different crafts a month, she said.
Outside vendors will offer their expertise in teaching classes. The shop will be the host for a jewelry class, children’s sewing class, wreath making, scrapbook and card-making class, she said. One woman offers an essential oils class.
The shop also will offer a boutique line of clothing including ladies pants, shirts and dresses, she said.
Growth in the vinyl signs part of the business drove the two to open the shop and expand their business, she said. They have made custom banners, signs and window decals.
Roberts said both business partners love to do crafts. Roberts said she likes to create designs for vinyl signs, likes to crochet and quilt, and experiment with new skills.
“Until we moved into the shop, we didn’t realize how much stuff we had,” she remarked. The act of moving their business to the shop resulted in them sorting through everything, and they donated items they weren’t using in their business to local daycares and to local women working on projects that will benefit not-for-profit organizations, she said.
“Both of us work full-time jobs in the health care field,” Roberts added. “We run the business behind the scenes of our full-time jobs.”
They work at their full-time jobs at different clinics during the days, and they work at nights and on the weekends at the Creative Expressions shop.
Roberts, a Basehor resident, is a graduate of Immaculata High School in Leavenworth and Emporia State University in 2013. Salazar, a Kansas City, Kan., resident, is a Washington High School graduate who received her paramedic training at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
“One thing we really like to do,” Roberts said, “is to encourage female entrepreneurs to get out and try new skills.”
They especially want to encourage other women to start their own craft endeavors or skills and form businesses, she said. Roberts said she and Salazar received a lot of support from the Bonner Springs Business and Professional Women’s Club, and they want to help support other women in business.
The Creative Expressions shop is at a former house that was remodeled into office and retail space by two firefighters in Kansas City, Kan. Roberts and Salazar gave the inside of their office a new coat of paint, new flooring and new light fixtures, with help from Roberts’ father, Eddie Roberts of Basehor.
The hours for Creative Expressions Inc. will be 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It is also open by appointment. Friday evenings are usually reserved for private parties.
For more information, visit the website at www.creativeexpressionskc.com or call 913-991-4092.