Custom Gifts are Splendid in Fenton

Rachael Fogerty was one of those people who always wanted to bring the best, most creative gift to a party. She said she’s always been creative, so when her boyfriend got her a embroidery machine, she was excited to learn a new craft to wow her friends.

She started using the machine to embroider gifts for birthdays and holidays.

“I was let go from A-B in 2009. After I lost my job I started a home based business,” Fogerty said. The business was a huge success and last October she and her partner Gary Zarbo opened Splendid Customer Embroidery and Gift Boutique next to .

The couple have a hectic schedule balancing their business, family and school. Zarbo is a volunteer fireman in Eureka and is planning to attend paramedic school in January. They don’t have any employees yet and do all their own work.

“We spend our life here. He comes straight from work, picks up apparel and then goes home in time to do bedtime for the kids,” Fogerty said. She’s thankful that they have the support of close family so they don’t need to send their two kids, both under five, to daycare.

Their shop showcases different types of items Splendid can embroider or decorate with heat-pressed vinyl. Customers can also bring in their own blank items for the store to customize, from t-shirts and towels to bags and blankets. Fogerty said they can also put vinyl lettering and art on cars, windows or walls, so there’s really no limit to what she can customize.

Fogerty runs her designs through a computerize vinyl cutter that etches the artwork into rolls of vinyl. The design is peeled off a paper backing and applied by hand to surface to be decorated. Fabric items are then heat set with a large press.

She charges $10 as a base price to customize items that customers bring into the shop, which can cover something simple like a name in one color.

Though most of her customers are shoppers looking for the perfect custom gift, she’s planning to expand her offerings with more “grab and go” holiday merchandise. In October she’ll be adding Halloween themed items, like children’s shirts with cute bats or black and orange hand towels with ghosts. She’s also dreaming up Christmas and winter themed merchandise for December.

Not everything in the shop is made by Fogerty however. She also has a few items in the store from local artists, like crocheted baby hats, handmade dresses for little girls and pet accessories. A center table holds hand-blown glass ornaments and paper weights from another artist.

“I always wanted a place where my friends could sell their stuff,” she said.