By Sue DiFranco
Copyright © 2003 Sue DiFranco/Fun Facts Publishing  

We were thrilled to discover El Paso, Texas's first and only scrapbook store! The Memory Keeper's owner, Ana Blunk, has does everything right. Here is some of what impressed us:

1. Listed in the Yellow Pages. This really is a must, if only for out-of-town travelers (like us). We had a very limited Internet connection, and we hadn't brought any scrapbook magazines with us. Were it not for the Yellow Pages, we might never have discovered her store!

2. The word "Scrapbooks" prominently displayed. Although a smaller hanging sign listed the store's name, a larger more visible sign simply read "Scrapbooks." This is one thing we highly recommend - even if you can only afford a banner sign, add it to your custom signage. It was just such a banner that caught my eye and brought me to my first scrapbook store in 1996.

3. Customer service. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted warmly by one of Ana's two employees. When we expressed appreciation to Ana about the store's customer service, she seemed surprised that not all scrapbook stores displayed the same quality of service. Unfortunately, no, not all of them.

4. Classes and layouts prominently displayed. The store's upcoming classes, dates, and times were clearly displayed on the wall, along with a sample layout of what students could expect to learn in class. We were so fascinated by the paper embroidery page, we almost extended our stay in El Paso!

5. Informative displays. Displays of layouts were conveniently located next to the specific products used to make the layouts.

6. Ana speaks both English and Spanish. In El Paso, where the Mexican population is the majority, this is a huge factor. Ana is able to market to even more potential scrapbookers than the traditional retailer. Marketing to the many different kinds of people who are present and potential scrapbookers is a subject we cover extensively in our book, Scrapbook U-Diversity: Redefining The Scrapbooking Industry.

Ana also says that one of her best marketing tools since opening in February 2002 has been her monthly newsletter and her weekly email blasts to people who have signed up to receive them. One of her challenges has been introducing the community to scrapbooking - believe it or not, it is just catching on down there!

If you're ever in the El Paso area, stop in and visit. I'm sure you'll be just as impressed as we were!

The Memory Keeper
5411 N. Mesa
El Paso, TX 79912
915-845-2899

Photos From The Memory Keeper
Click on the photos to enlarge!