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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Utah is famous for a lot of things, but did you know it's famous for scrapbooking? That's right, many believe scrapbooking was started in Utah. The state does have ties to many of the largest scrapbooking stores, catalogs and magazines, and I think it's safe to say that when it comes to scrapbooking, Anthony and Marielen Christensen know what they're talking about. The Christensens own Keeping Memories Alive, a scrapbooking store and wholesaler in Spanish Fork.
The Christensens officially started their business in 1980 when they were asked to present their scrapbooking ideas at the World Conference on Records in Salt Lake City; however, Marielen had been speaking about scrapbooks since 1976. When Anthony and Marielen left the conference, they had the names of 2,500 people who wanted more information about scrapbooking and where the right supplies could be found.
Marielen tells me the business originally started as a church assignment. The Christensens were asked to find ways to motivate people to do their own personal histories. Marielen says she understands why it was hard for people to become excited about creating a personal history because it wasn't easy to find the right supplies. In fact, the Christensens had such a hard time finding paper, they started making their own.
Today, Keeping Memories Alive has literally thousands of papers to choose from, as well as scrapbooking supplies and ideas. Last year alone the store sent out 150,000 catalogs to people who had inquired about the business. Keeping Memories Alive also sells to more than 1,200 stores nationwide.
Marielen says people from all over the world have contacted her, asking about how to make their own scrapbook. She says Keeping Memories Alive is all about combining pictures, histories and information together in interesting ways at a low price.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
