I would like to share an experience with you that is a regular occurrence for all of us at GreenSneakers that we never take for granted, but rather find as a source of great inspiration. My hopes are simple – that you will perhaps find the same inspiration and entertainment from this story as others have.
In 1995 shortly after quitting my job to start GreenSneakers, I was doing a trade show in San Diego, California. While there I visited one of the first stores to carry our Kreate-a-lopes, Stamp LaJolla, because I wanted to introduce myself to the store owner in person to thank her for being the first store in the country to carry our then unknown envelope templates. She was in the middle of telling me a story about one of her customers that loved our product when the front door opened. “In fact, here comes your biggest fan now,” the store owner said.
After being introduced, the customer began to speak. “I want to thank you for developing this wonderful invention and for sharing it with the crafting community,” she said. “You see it’s the first envelope template I ever had success with using because it shows me where to align my rubber stamped images.” Now, to anyone that has ever used one of our Kreate-a-lopes, this comment may not seem unusual because of the way the Kreate-a-lope envelope templates work – with the guidelines and the “window,” etc., but the extraordinary thing about this woman and her comment in particular was the fact that she was blind. She used our envelope template and her rubber stamps by feel!
As we spoke, she pulled out some of her samples. I was transfixed. They were stunning. One of them was the most brilliant sunset I ever saw in art form. Another was a small deer in a wooded area nuzzling its mother. I came to learn that she lost her sight at a young age so she had a memory of shapes and their colors and somehow she was able to assemble the most amazing works of art without being able to see! She told me how her friends and family loved to receive her creations and mentioned how she even began to sell many of her unsent cards and envelopes for charity! She showed me how she felt the shapes of her stamps and described what she “saw” as her hand moved over one of her favorite ones that she had in her large purse worthy of a Let’s Make a Deal contestant.
My new friend and I talked for over an hour that day. When I finally had to leave it was as a changed person. From that day forward I truly understood the gift she gave me and the gift I was given when the idea for the Kreate-a-lope first came to me. To be the recipient of a once-stranger’s gratitude when I considered myself merely the conduit for the Kreate-a-lope was more than I ever expected. But as wonderful as that experience was it was only the first of many similarly blessed encounters that continue to allow us to appreciate our lives and to keep trying to create the best and most innovative products in our industry.
I wanted to share this story with you, our customer – many of whom have become our friends throughout the years – a sincere thank you and best wishes in all you do.
Sincerely,
Nick Romer
President, www.greensneakers.com
