Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Saying Goodbye: Mary Edson (left) and sister Mauren Gray hold up balloons announcing A Little Something Special's 20 years in business. Maureen, the store's owner, started the gift and novelty shop when she was 23 years old. The storefront will be closing at the end of the month, but business will continue online.
After 20 years, business decides to refocus to online customer service
Gift baskets, balloons, cards, candy made store feel like home to customers
By Moryt Milo
After 20 years of blowing up more than a million balloons and creating countless gift baskets, A Little Something Special, located at 451 E. Campbell Ave., is closing its storefront at the end of February.
"I'm going to miss seeing our regulars," owner Maureen Gray says. "It will be tough losing that sense of community."
But the store isn't going out of business--a rumor that has swept through downtown Campbell--it's only closing its physical location. The store's online and telephone business will continue as usual.
The store, which originally opened in 1982 at a smaller location on E. Campbell Avenue, is the oldest operating retailer on the street. It survived the downtown when the road only went one way through E. Campbell Avenue. It's held onto its customer base as parking continued to be a problem and it's weathered the ups and downs in the economy.
Through it all, Gray, 43, says the store's telephone and online business has remained strong because of their biggest seller, balloon décor, which consists of large elaborate arches and bouquets for parties and marketing events.
It's why the store has never had to rely on foot traffic and why closing the business' physical location will not affect it that much, Gray says.
"There is a whole world of customers who will never know we closed our storefront because they have never been in," she says. "These customers do everything over the phone."
Twenty years ago, Gray's customer base began in a 600-square-foot store, where she sold silk flowers and hair accessories, which were popular in the early 1980s, Gray says.
The business, which began from a love of crafts, quickly grew beyond simple hair accessory designs into silk floral arrangements for weddings and floral bouquets for hats. Within a short time, customers were coming to the store and asking if Gray also carried gifts and cards, which was added to the inventory.
Then, one day, a client came in asking for balloons for a 49er Superbowl party, and suddenly, Gray says, she was in the balloon business.
"No matter what the customer wanted, I said, 'Sure we can do that,' and that's how our business grew," she says.
By the time the market for silk flowers faded, Gray's store was overrun with gifts, cards and balloons.
"The store was so packed we could barely walk through it," she says. "We felt claustrophobic."
When the current 3,700-square-foot store became available, Gray didn't hesitate to move. That was 14 years ago.
Now as she gets ready to close it, she reminisces about the store's location and the special meaning it's had for her and her sister, Mary Edson, 47, who has worked with Gray for the past 17 years.
As a young child, Gray grew up in downtown Campbell and walked through its streets every day on her way home from Campbell High School. While walking, she dreamed about having a store in a downtown location. With family support, her dream became a reality.
Gray says she would be remiss in not crediting her grandmother, Alice "Mammy" Ledum.
"She was my biggest cheerleader, loan officer and promoter," Gray says. "She would sit in the store and greet people and hand out business cards everywhere she went."
It's part of what has made the store feel like home, she says.
But seven years ago, home became Ventura County for Gray. Since her move, Edson has managed the store, with Gray driving up every couple of weeks. It is one of the primary reasons the store is closing. The other is wanting greater flexibility in the business.
There were numerous occasions when customers had last-minute needs or off-site events that required a juggling of store hours. Gray and her sister would scramble to make sure the store was covered, which will no longer be a problem as they transfer their focus to online and telephone services only.
The store's closing will also allow Gray more time to recharge her creative energy, which took a backseat to the business during the past 20 years.
Yet the creative energy Gray is looking to recapture is exactly what employee Linda Marie, 20, says she will miss once the store closes.
"Getting to use my creativity and personal touch in a variety of ways is one of the things I will miss the most," Marie says.
But change is tough and store employee Danielle Depa, 20, who has worked with Gray and Edson for three years, says, "I'm sad because this is like family. I am definitely going to miss not just my store family but the customers I've come to know as my Campbell family."
Many local customers also think of the store as family. Joanne Caginia, who was looking at Valentine's Day gift baskets, says she started coming to the store as a young girl with her mother. Last week, she was in the store with her child, and when she was told the store was closing, she couldn't believe it.
"I've been coming to the store for as long as it's been here," Caginia says. "I'm shocked."
Representatives of the Campbell Chamber of Commerce and the Campbell Redevelopment Agency say they are sorry to see a longtime tenant leave, but look forward to seeing a new business enhance the downtown area.
One of the owners of the building where the store is located, Tom Dodge, says he's talking to many possible tenants, from a dress shop to a restaurant, but as of press time, he had not rented the space to anyone.
For more information about gift baskets and balloon decor for events call 408.370.2048 or visit the store's website at www.ballooncrew.com.
Campbell, California
