Donnie Binz has been collecting trading cards since he was a little kid. He started with traditional sports cards with his dad, who owned a baseball card shop. When gaming cards were introduced in the 1990s, he was instantly hooked. Binz has been playing Magic, The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! since those games first came out in 1993 and 1996 respectively. To play, gamers collect the trading cards in order to build a powerful deck and challenge their friends. Each card has a detailed illustration of a monster, spell or weapon with a list of statistics that show how the card is played. Magic was …

The staff of Bravura Realtors celebrated with members of the Fenton Area Chamber of Commerce Tuesday as Bravura scheduled an open house in its new quarters at 2610B Gravois Road, High Ridge. Bravura Realtors was formerly located in the 1600 block of Gravois Road. Missouri. Jon Majors, Nancy Conell and the Bravura staff aim to provide customers with the tools to find the home of their dreams. For more information, visit www.bravurarealtors.com, or call 636-671-9401.

Connie Jeter likes to make his name—and that of his western clothing store—into a conversation starter. “Now, which one of us do you think is Connie and which is Hermie?” he jokes. “Most think I’m Hermie.” Connie Jeter and his wife Hermie have run C&H Western Wear since 1962. They sell all things western, from boots and hats to jeans, saddles and bits. “If it’s western, we have it,” said Jeter. The store caters to the western crowd—both the weekend cowboy and the folks who need fancy duds to wear while riding horses in a show ring. Of course, you don’t have to ride a horse to shop at C&H. …

“We have an ice plant on every continent,” said Mike Minor, President and CEO of Vivian International. But locals just know Minor as the “Ice Man” and wonder how he stays in business selling bags of ice so cheap. Those cheap bags of ice—one dollar for eight pounds of cubes—are actually a by-product of Vivian International’s true business, which is selling ice making machines and refrigeration units. It started freezing ice at the headquarters just to show off the equipment’s capabilities, and Minor decided to bag up the extra to sell to passersby. Vivian International is all about ice. It …

Robyn Ferrell's mother, Donna Autry, had been teaching dance for more than 25 years when she and her daughter decided to open their own studio. “We all do a little bit,” Ferrell said of the family-run business, Starbound Dance, which opened 10 years ago in High Ridge.   Robyn and her sister Kim Autry both teach at the studio, while their mom runs the desk and their dad Jim Ferrell handles the finances.  Robyn’s husband Gregg Ferrell is a photographer who pitches in by taking recital photos. Starbound offers all forms of dance: tap, ballet, jazz, pointe, acrobatic and hip-hop. Kim specializes …

“Most hunting is done in low light, the first hour of the morning or the last hour in the evening. That’s when game are moving,” said Terry Whitford, who should know since he has been hunting most of his life and bow hunting since 1975. He’s also a retired professional photographer, a skill that came in handy when he decided to solve the problem of shooting game in low light. He applied his knowledge of optics with the needs of a bow hunter to create a special peep sight with an amber lens—the same color used in shooting glasses.  “I fooled around and came up with this idea, got it patented …

Brian Haskins, owner of Antire-44 Haskins Storage, is a hometown boy who went to Northwest High School. He left the area for a few years, moving all the way out to Ballwin after he married his wife Becky. But he still had fond memories of the farm he grew up next to in High Ridge back in the 1960s. “I used to sneak over there and hunt squirrels and rabbits,” he said. He never dreamed that he would one day buy the farm, but in 1991 he did. He and his family kept a few horses, cows and chickens on the farm and grew pumpkins as a fundraiser for his kid’s baseball team. The idea to start a …

Susie Johnson dreamed of owning her own horse when she was a little girl. When she was eight years old she’d comb the newspaper classifieds looking for “horses for sale” and would call them, just to chat with real horse owners. She knew her mom, a waitress, couldn’t afford to buy her a horse, but little girls dream big. Johnson now owns an entire herd of horses and a ranch to boot. She operates the Rocking J Ranch in High Ridge and offers trail rides, riding lessons, summer camps and horse boarding. She’s almost ready to open a bed and breakfast on her property so clients can have a dude …

Hot Rod Custom Cycles is a motorcycle repair shop that can accessorize bikes or build them completely from the ground up. They specialize in Harley-Davidson and custom choppers, but can also handle routine maintenance for foreign made “metric” bikes. Jeff Rawlins is a former Chrysler employee who decided to get into the motorcycle business when his job was threaten by layoffs 10 years ago. Rawlins had always enjoyed riding and working on motorcycles, so in 2003 he started Arch City Custom Cycles with a partner in Fenton. Later, when they couldn’t agree on how to expand the business, Rawlins …

“I couldn't spend the rest of my life in a cube,” said Tiffany Ursch of her new online business. Tiffany is one of four entrepreneurial friends who have recently launched Evolve Screen Printing, a T-shirt and textiles print shop based in High Ridge. Tiffany, her husband Matt, and Ryan and Alicia Brand formed Evolve Screen Printing last March after dreaming of owning their own business. Tiffany, Ryan and Alicia have been friends since their days at Oakville High School. “We work together perfectly,” said Alicia. “Ryan and I are artists, Tiffany is good at marketing and Matt is a jack-of-all-…

“People think you can just do it, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can hurt them,” said Vicki Carpenter of her line of work. Carpenter is a professionally trained massage therapist, with a practice in High Ridge called Prism Touch Massage. Carpenter has been a massage therapist for seven years. Her business, Prism Touch Massage, operates in conjunction with Shave No More, a laser hair removal service in Coachlight Plaza, where she rents her office space. She also provides services at Ballas Chiropractic and Nutrition Centre in Creve Coeur. Carpenter said she was always interested …

Betty’s Books has been presence in High Ridge for 35 years, but its owner, Betty Stochl, has finally decided to retire. At the age of 80, Betty has seen the used book business through its ups and downs. She’s now ready to turn the page on her used book and comic shop and do a little traveling. Betty started the book store quite by accident. She said she once spotted a book sale in the newspaper—a widow wanted to sell her husband’s book collection. Betty has always been an avid reader, so she went to look at the collection. She said there were several books she just had to have, but the widow …

Bi-State Landscape Supply in High Ridge is a family-owned business that’s been around in one form or another since 1975. Bill Richardet started off small by selling firewood when he was between jobs as a carpenter in the off-season. “Back in the 70s I used to knock on doors and sell firewood and mulch,” said Richardet. His customers spread the word and after three years of hustling firewood and mulch, he realized his “side job” was earning more than construction work. Thus, Bi-State was born. Richardet said he saw a niche that wasn’t being filled and felt pretty confident about taking the …

Nancy Crane's Family Pet Care in High Ridge is located on two country acres with beautiful trees and white picket fences. “Our business was started from the ground up in 1960 and is still family owned and operated,” said Mike Crane, who runs the kennel with his mother Nancy, now semi-retired. “Our staff is trained to give you and your pet exceptional service and care.” Crane said one of the advantages of running a kennel in the country is the lack of neighbors. “There’s a lot of indoor kennels, but they can’t have 100 barking dogs like we do. It’s about noise,” he said. He said that dogs …

When Stacy Sims and her mother Susan Braun of Your Family Florist aren’t arranging flowers or on a delivery, chances are they are tending to the youngest members of the clan. Just a week after opening the High Ridge business, Sims found out that she was pregnant with twins. After having the baby girls, she was back to work the next week with both children in tow. “They actually grew up in the business,” Sims said. “They came to work with me every day – we had the high chairs and cribs all set up. And now my sister’s kids are here with us. But we love it, we don’t have to hire a sitter.” …

Knowing that it would only take a year and a half to get a license in cosmetology, Shannon McBroom enrolled in beauty school shortly after graduating from Northwest High School in 1999. Her plan was to work as a stylist and attend a four-year university to earn a degree in another area. “At the time, I just thought it would be a quick way to get my foot in the door and something I could do while attending college,” she said. “But once I started doing it, I loved it, and I knew I wanted to do it the rest of my life or until my hands quit working. You make people feel good about themselves.” …

Rosalie Schmidt was so disheartened when she found out the High Ridge Curves at 320 Emerson Road would be closing in 2008, she decided to buy the business herself. Schmidt, of Brynes Mill, joined the gym in 2003 to get in shape and soon afterward, began working at the club part time. Curves is a national fitness franchise for women, which offers a 30-minute cardio and strength-training circuit workout and nutritional classes and products. While Schmidt enjoyed working for the club, it was the friendships she made with the members that influenced her decision to purchase the franchise, now …