BY LOU ANN GOOD
LITITZ (Lancaster) Some
ideas seem too ridiculous to
pursue. Some are so silly they pro
vide everyone with a good laugh.
Paul Graybill believeii that he
had such an idea about IS years
ago. He and his wife, Grace, who
reside in Lititz, were traveling to
Florida when Paul suggested they
open a craft shop.
“I laughed for 17 miles,” Grace
recalls. “It seemed so ridiculous.”
A few months earlier she and
her daughter had opened a stand
for macrame projects at Root’s
Market in Manheim. The orders
ballooned. Feeling swamped, but
indebted to fill orders, Grace
tracked down a wholesale
macrame yam shop in Florida.
A few moments after Paul sug
gested that they opened a craft
shop, the Graybills entered the
wholesale macrame shop. Grace
whispered to her husband, “They
probably won’t sell wholesale to
us if we don’t have a shop.”
In a hurried discussion, the
Graybills decided that perhaps
owning a shop was not such a ridi
culous idea. After a bit of whis
pered planning, they decided to set
up shop in the bam with an old
fashioned rain barrel by the
doorway.
When the salesperson asked for
the name of their shop, Grace
blurted out, “The Rain Barrel.”
The Graybills couldn’t wait to
return to Lititz and open up shop.
Unfortunately upon close
examination, the bam proved
unsuitable for their craft shop.
Undaunted, Paul built shelves
surrounding the fireplace in the
family room. After attaining a zon
ing change and stacking crafts on
the newly built shelves, the Gray-
demonstrates bow making.
Basket weaving Is a favorite among customers at
tomer the different designs that can be woven in the basket.
Fireside Crafts Sparked By Siily Idea
bills christened their new store,
“Fireside Crafts.”
Paul said, “People told us our
store wouldn’t survive because we
aren’t on a busy street."
They also predicted they
wouldn’t survive because they had
no store or selling experience.
They were wrong.
Grace said, “It grew beyond our
expectations.”
Today their shop fills five rooms
with lots of nooks and crannies and
is due for another expansion.
Although macrame was the rage
15 years ago, its popularity began
to wane. Over the years they’ve
learned new crafts to keep up with
the changing consumer demands.
Baskets, art, pierced lamps
hades, and tin punching are some
favorites. Basket weaving demand
forced Paul to give up his fulltime
job papering and painting and he
now takes charge of the basket
department where he dyes the
baskets for customers who buy
their supplies at their shop.
“Every class we offer in basket
making, gets filled,” he said as he
rearranged the multitude of
baskets in all shapes, sizes and
colors.
In addition to Grace and Paul
working fulltime in the shop, they
also employ one full-time and sev
eral parttime workers. .
Grace, who teaches both finger
and brush painting, is self taught.
She said, “Before opening the
shop, I did do a'lot of crafts and
worked with church groups to
supply craft ideas, but I never
thought I could do this as a
business.”
She constantly purchases addi
tional books to learn new crafts. “I
followed the instructions in a book
to learn how to do this,” she said as
4 !
: i
I *
With a warm smile and a calm spirit, Grace Grayblii, Lltltz, demonstrates the art of
painting roses.
Paul and Grace Graybill kneel by the fireplace that sparked the name for Fireside
Crafts of Lltitz.
she dipped her little finger into the
paint and blotted the paint five
times in a circle. With her finger,
she popped a little yellow center in
the middle of the circle and
presto—a flower. Deftly she
turned her finger this way and that
to produce a cascade of flowers.
She said, “I’ve taught thousands of
people how to do this.”
Adults and children of all ages
find finger painting adaptable to
Crafts,
.
decorating on wood, baskets, pap
er and cloth.
The Graybills admit the shop
ties them down a lot, but they make
sure they attend the Philadelphia
Craft Show for retailers and a few
other large ones for wholesalers.
In the beginning, Grace referred
to her craft teaching as a hobby.
After teaching hundreds of others,
she no longer refers to it merely as
a hobby, but she never tires of the
satisfaction attained by meeting
new people.
“I meet the most interesting peo
ple,” she said. In the beginning, I
knew all my customers by name,
but now it’s grown so much I can’t
say that.”
rsacus-
wmesiead
c fates
She tells about the woman w
came and talked endlessly. Seva
times, Grace reminded the worn
of her husband waiting in the 0
The woman dismissed Grace
concern by saying, “Don’t won
My husband’s an angel.”
Hours later, the phone ranjL
was the woman’s husband vi
said, “When my wife is ready
come home, call me.”
Grace chuckles, “Around hfl
it never gets boring.
Classes are by appointment*
their shop, 11 W. Lexington Rot
Lititz, 17543; (717) 626-6405,.
opened every day but Sunday I
on Tuesday when they stand;
Roots Market in Manheim. 1