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Local Women Selling Party Supplies, Art On Internet
Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today
From left: Diana Walker and her mother Debby Hirsh own Unwrap the Party, a business which is exclusively online after six years.
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Published: April 20, 2008
SEBRING — Shoppers can no longer walk into Unwrap the Party to pick up party supplies because the Sebring store closed several months ago.
But despite what some people think, Diana Walker and her mother, Debby Hirsh, are still in business. Their wares can be found on the Internet at www.unwraptheparty.com
It was a personal decision relating to family that was the main reason why they chose to move the business online. They said they are "big on family."
"It was a hard decision," Walker said. "We met so many nice people."
Hirsh said she stood by the door and cried on the last day before closing the store in Sebring Plaza.
"We put a lot of hard work and energy into the store," she said. "We were the party store with the personal touch."
A home office has been set up at Hirsh's home. Their inventory can be found in 300 boxes stacked on shelves in what used to be a rec room.
Hirsh said she and Walker conduct the operation as a business.
"We don't work in our pajamas," Hirsh said.
They ship items all over the United States. They don't deliver door-to-door locally, but will meet a customer at perhaps the post office or a restaurant to complete the transaction.
Hirsh believes they made the right choice because of the freedom and flexibility it gives them, noting that they are going to participate in the Relay for Life in Sebring. It is also more convenient for the shopper who might be in another part of the country or those with small children.
Meanwhile, MK "Maggie" Hall has started artdazzle.com. Hall markets limited edition, signed gi clee ( an ink jet printing process) prints that are archival quality. She also sells the prints on greeting cards.
Hall started the business to supplement her income. She is a Realtor with Century 21 Advanced All Service Realty Inc.
"What I'm offering people in my Web site is the opportunity to buy the print of their choice for the price that I have on them, which has been reduced since I started," Hall said. "They can choose whether or not they want it on art paper or stretch canvas or just on canvas.
"I'm limited edition, and they are signed," she added. "And I have a program where after a certain amount sell then the price goes up. So it is built-in appreciation, that was my hook."
It was a class – Rural Entrepreneur Action Learning – offered by the Small Business Development Center of the Heartland at South Florida Community College that she took last fall that gave her the motivation to move forward. She said she learned about creating a business plan and, as a result of the class, received valuable help in establishing the Web site.
"The course sort of gave me momentum, and made me discover a lot about the process of making this into a business," she said.
Hall acknowledged that income from the Web site has not been "anything to write home about." The site has been up since December.
Hall, who studied fashion illustration at Florida State University, said she has been a "Sunday painter all the time."
She said she has "great hopes" for the site and is determined to make it work.
"There is opportunity here," Hall said. "People who shop online are growing in number."
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