{"id":151,"date":"2010-09-01T18:29:17","date_gmt":"2010-09-01T18:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/catchingfireflies.com\/blog\/?p=151"},"modified":"2010-09-01T18:29:17","modified_gmt":"2010-09-01T18:29:17","slug":"berkley-turns-ten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.catchingfirefliesgifts.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/berkley-turns-ten\/","title":{"rendered":"berkley turns TEN!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Berkley<\/a> <\/p>\n

It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since Steve & I signed our very first commercial lease in downtown Berkley. It was scary & exciting all at the same time… the rent was double our house mortgage, we just hired 5 people to help us produce our line of paper goods<\/a> & we were opening our very first retail store!<\/p>\n

Remember these days?<\/p>\n

\n\"2000<\/a>
No pretty purple awning, only 500 square feet of shopping space (the rest was used as our design studio) and our 2 cats, Tuesday & Piper kept an eye on the customers & counter while we worked in the back.<\/p>\n

Despite our humble beginnings, the lovely people around Berkley supported our little venture & we were able to grow in size and hire a fantastic manager in just a few years.<\/p>\n

\n\"Danielle\"<\/a>
Even though I'm the virtual voice of catching fireflies,  Danielle is the gal who creates the shopping environment you have all enjoyed & appreciated over the years.  And even though our store kitty, Piper still holds the title of "First Furry Manager" she agrees that Danielle does a pretty swell job of running the place…especially since she allows her take numerous cat naps on the clock:)<\/p>\n

\n\"Save<\/a>
We'll also we donating 5% of all our sales from the day to Alternatives for Girls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\"Alternatives<\/a>
Alternatives For Girls helps homeless and high-risk girls and young
\nwomen avoid violence, teen pregnancy and exploitation, and helps them
\nto explore and access the support, resources and opportunities
\nnecessary to be safe, to grow strong and to make positive choices in
\ntheir lives.<\/p>\n

We look forward to making days brighter for our firefly fans as well as those in need around Metro Detroit for many more years to come.<\/p>\n

Cheers to 10 fabulous firefly years!<\/p>\n