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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
I love to hear great success stories about businesses that thrive and overcome adversities. Chet and Lenita Thompson faced a huge shock and disappointment in September 2001 when their company Pressed Petals in Richfield, Utah, burned to the ground. It was a heartsick and despondent Chet who stood and looked at the smoldering ruins of his enterprise.
As Chet recounted to me the story of the fire, he went on to say that the tragedy turned into a blessing as his business is thriving and showing tremendous growth in its new location in downtown Richfield.
Pressed Petals is a fascinating story. Chet and Lenita started their business in 1989. They would grow and press flowers in Utah in the summers and in Arizona during the winter months. Flowers were packaged and sold to other manufacturers to be utilized in their products. In 1991, they started designing products that could utilize their own pressed flowers. Chet gave me a sample of one of their first products, a real flower bookmark. It is really attractive with beautiful flowers in brilliant colors, accented with natural raffia and eucalyptus leaves.
Chet and Lenita have expanded their line and have begun offering stickers, stationary, large framed pictures, note cards, flower gem magnets, and unique ìsun catchersî that you hang in the sunlight to reflect light and shadows in a most attractive way.
With scrapbooking now a huge hobby and avocation nationwide, Pressed Petals has begun shipping copious quantities of stickers and other products to large hobby shops across the country. A new product added to the line is wedding invitations. Never have I seen anything quite as unique or attractive as the samples Chet has in his wedding invitation catalogue.
Pressed Petals now has thousands accounts all over the country and business has never been better. Yes, the fire was devastating but certainly not defeating. Chet and Lenita have a business that is really blooming and growing.
For Zions Bank, Iím Fred Ball. Iím speaking on business.
