Personalized gifts hand-embellished by new Bridgeport from freeamfva's blog

Personalized gifts hand-embellished by new Bridgeport

For two years, Ben and Chelsea Stottlemyer have sold artisan decor, hand-lettered items and personalized clothing online.To get more news about koala Print, you can visit koalaprint.com official website.

But demand from around the world caused the Bridgeport residents to open a storefront of their crafts and crafts of nine other artisans in Charles Pointe.

“Everything online is hand-made or embellished. I do a lot of calligraphy and Ben does a lot of design,” Chelsea Stottlemyer said. “He can take my hand-lettered calligraphy and put it on all kinds of different items — blankets, pillows, hats, T-shirts, mugs, etc.”Beyond Measure Living, which has been open online since December 2016, had its grand opening at 139 Conference Center Way, in the former Sherri’s Closet and Cleaners, on Dec. 1. After also considering renting space at Meadowbrook Mall, the couple signed their lease a month prior.

“We briefly talked about opening a store, but it was never something I thought would happen for a long time. I thought we’d maybe have a store 10 years down the road or something, but we called about this space and within a couple of days, we were able to sign,” Chelsea Stottlemyer said. “It happened very quick.”

Ben Stottlemyer said the couple wanted to be open for the holiday shopping season and were able to do so through the help of family and friends.

While Chelsea Stottlemyer got interested in the business after receiving a practice calligraphy book for Christmas, Ben Stottlemyer has a degree in computer science from West Virginia Junior College and has worked with computer design and graphics for about 18 years.

Brother Mike Stottlemyer is a pastor at Message of Freedom Church in Grafton, and Ben Stottlemyer controls the television broadcast.

“I grew up with computers, but I just applied the graphics with Chelsea,” Ben Stottlemyer said. “I pushed her and saw her passion toward it.”

Other artisans, which were found by the Stottlemyer’s personally as they traveled to different craft shows, are from throughout West Virginia, from Morgantown to Belington. The Stottlemyer’s attend craft shows September through November.The most popular item is a personalized message or names across a framed copy of memorable sheet music. Chelsea Stottlemyer first thought of the idea when she made one for her sister Faith’s wedding in Mannington.

“That’s how our online business started,” she said. “They can choose about any song. It varies each week, but sometimes we’ll have several dozen orders in a day.