COVID-19 has proven to be challenging for many local Northeast Ohio businesses. But with this challenge, comes the opportunity to innovate and give back. We are so inspired by the things that local businesses are doing that we decided to spotlight fellow Mentor, Willoughby Western Lake County, Eastern Lake County, and Chardon Chamber of Commerce member businesses that are making lemonade out of lemons and adjusting their business and/or giving back to the community during this time.
We will be posting several stories a week, to help bring some positivity to your feeds! Today, we are spotlighting Junie Balloonie, a family business located in Fairport Harbor that specializes in etched wine glasses and hand formed paper flower bouquets.
Junie Balloonie
Amie Longstaff, owner of Junie Balloonie, has come up with innovative ways to connect with her current and future customers during what are strenuous times. Junie Balloonie regularly holds paper flower classes at its Fairport Harbor shop, but due to COVID-19, is unable to at this time. While many people are quarantined at home, Amie received requests to offer kits that Junie Balloonie customers could create at home. Unfortunately, after looking into creating kits, she soon realized she was unable to acquire the supplies needed to put them together.
However, Amie didn’t give up there. In response, she now offers free Facebook live tutorials as a way to continue to connect with her customers and offer something fun that families could do together. She has been focusing on making paper flower tutorials that parents and kids can easily do at home with just materials they have around their house. When we spoke with Amie, she told us, “There are no fancy supplies or specific papers needed, as people have created flowers out of newspaper, junk mail and leftover Christmas wrapping paper.”
Junie Balloonie’s live tutorials on Facebook air every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon and if you miss them live, they are posted afterwards so you can refer back to them at any time. Amie loves getting photos and messages from her viewers of their creations, such as bouquets for their Easter tables. And Mother’s Day will present another opportunity for kids to use Junie Balloonie tutorials to make something special for Mom!
Another thing that Amie tells her customers is that these projects are about the creative process, as a stress relief, and to focus on having fun rather than focusing on creating the perfect petals. Amie stressed that Junie Balloonie is is all about “inspiring you to bloom to your fullest potential” and she knows that right now that is more important than ever.
It is exciting to hear that new products have even developed out of this crisis and that Amie is remaining positive. Junie Balloonie cannot thank its customers and community enough, as they have been so kind and supportive during these times. At D&S, we are confident that when we are able to go back to our new “normal” that Junie Balloonie will continue to bloom.
Stay tuned for more stories like Junie Balloonie’s, as we spotlight several more local businesses throughout the week.
As for D&S, we are open and operating under adjusted hours of 8:00 am – 5:00 pm M-F.
Here are the actions we are taking:
- We are sanitizing all vehicles before and after each repair. Our employees are paying special attention to interior and exterior customer touch points such as keys, seats, steering wheels, door handles, and other hard surfaces.
- We are offering complimentary pick up and drop off of vehicles so you do not need to leave your home.
- You can get a repair estimate from home by using our online estimate tool.
- We will work with you in terms of payment over the phone or any other precautions to ensure as little contact as possible.
- We are cleaning our facilities frequently with sanitizing products.
- We are taking precautions to ensure the welfare of our employees. This includes instructing employees who feel ill to stay home and consult their healthcare providers, as well as, instructing all employees to be vigilant about frequent and proper hand washing.
- If you feel sick, please visit our Collision Centers at a future date, stay home and seek advice from your health care provider.