Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 12, 1990 TAG: 9004130464
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY CHERYL ANN KAUFMAN SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"To me, it's much more difficult not to sell something everyone else has," she said.
Huffman has been busy accepting that challenge ever since she opened Unique Expressions gift shop at 8 W. Kirk Ave. five months ago.
Picking and choosing from a battery of hand-sculpted chocolate roses, crystal animals, cards stuffed with bags of herbal tea, Mylar balloons, jewelry and other merchandise she deems "eclectic," Huffman customizes gift baskets for thoughtful corporate and private clients.
She also delivers Teddy-Grams - not the snacks, but plush teddy bears toting Mylar balloons and telegrams befitting any occassion. The idea for the teddy "bear"-ing greetings was her own.
She runs the business herself, seven hours a day, Monday through Friday.
"The business is small, but it's growing," said Huffman, who hadn't always dreamed of owning a gift shop.
She had first considered running a mail-order business.
"My original idea was to buy gift baskets and sell them," said Huffman, who used to work as an accountant and office manager for a few Washington, D.C., construction companies before her husband, Jimmy, took a job as a marketing associate with Sysco Food Corp. in Roanoke.
She said it was Jimmy who encouraged her to design her own baskets as well as market them.
So she began exploring the possibilities. She spent a year scouring catalogs, attending trade shows, and examining consumer and merchandising trends. She also went to SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, for advice.
"And of course you have the brainstorming sessions with the husband at the kitchen table," she laughed.
She said a combination of saved money and financial support from her husband allowed her to fund the business.
Her sister, Pat Yankee, and nephew, Perry Isner, helped her set up shop. Isner, a Washington, D.C., artist, designed Huffman's letterhead and business card logo.
And Huffman designs her own gift baskets, which she has been known to cram with decorative picture frames, tiny rocking horses, stuffed animals and other toys, mugs, pen sets and birthday candles. For Thanksgiving she stuffed a bird-shaped basket with gourmet treats. Sometimes her clients tell her exactly what they want; other times they describe the recipient of the basket and allow her to come up with her own design, which she describes as scary, because "I want them to be pleased."
Apparently they are, because Huffman said customers have described her baskets and gift bags, which cost less, as "precious, pretty and unique."
Once, for a 5-year-old's birthday, Huffman created a centerpiece by stuffing a vase with chocolate roses. She discovered the edible buds when her husband sent them to her on Valentine's Day two years ago.
"I thought they were nifty, as an alternative gift to flowers." Huffman said her roses are extra special because they are hand-sculpted, and not molded. "They're unique and exclusive," she said. "People think they're silk."
As another alternative to wiring flowers, Huffman will ship her personalized baskets to other states. "That way, [customers] can see what they're getting for their money," she said.
Huffman also delivers her baskets locally - free of charge if it is a get-well or new-arrival basket to a local hospital, or if the destination is within downtown Roanoke.
Huffman says she's thrilled with her downtown venue. She calls Kirk Avenue a "trendy little area to be reckoned with," and said her boutique's close proximity to other downtown businesses has lured many corporate clients to her door.
"I'm really looking forward to Secretaries' Day," she said, adding that local businesses often call on her to help them thank their customers or design gift bags for company get-togethers.
Huffman said the only minor drawback of the location is that it is "abutted on each end by gift shops." But she quickly added that the competition isn't fierce because she offers items and services that they don't.
She said her other neighbors have been friendly and often make referrals in her favor.
"Business begets business," she said.
by CNB