Lightening Up and Looking Good

Owner Merilee at Idaho Bag Ladies is in style and rarely without a smile.

You’ll find her modeling items daily within her store. She really believes that clothes and accessories make the woman:

“I think we all walk a little lighter when we treat ourselves, absolutely. The basis of the store is interchanging. Interchangeable accessories and flaunting your individuality, because none of them are the same. That’s my tagline: Flaunt your individuality. With these interchangeable items two women can both buy the same pair of switchflops, but they’re going to look completely different because they’re probably going to choose different straps or snaps. Same with the watches and the purses, so it’s always a lift when they can personalize it to fit their personality.”

Spunky and take-charge, I asked her where the self-confidence she exuded came from.

“As far as being my own person; I think I’ve always been this way! I’m one of the lucky ones. I had the ideal childhood; I was Daddy’s girl. I was always encouraged and supported. My parents told me I could do and be whatever I wanted to be, so I was very blessed. Yes, I think I’ve always been this way; seeing the glass as half full instead of half empty. I’ve always seen the positive light and like to spread that. I like to see others realize their potential, too.”

I asked her how she became the owner of a store like the one we were in. Her answer was one I’d heard many times lately:

“This is not what I set out to do. I was in Real Estate; I owned a real estate company. I got involved with the Idaho Bag Ladies in January of 2010. I was still doing real estate. I’d been doing that for 20 years, and felt I was done. Prior to real estate I was in retail. My passions are coordinating, everything matching, shoes, jewelry, purses. So that’s kind of how this happened.”

“It was time for a change. It was hard to keep a positive outlook with all of the hardships out there. When you have the option of doing something different…at time’s you’ve gotta say, I’ve got to walk away from this. It was the hardest because of some of the stories.”

Merilee has found her venue for giving people a boost.

“Now I’m bringing positive light and they can all match!” she laughs.

She’s a big believer in helping her neighbors, too.

“If as a community we succeed; if we support each other and make sure that all of us succeed, look at where we’re going to be. Just imagine the possibilities. I believe whole-heartedly in promoting other businesses and making sure everybody else succeeds as well.”

“It might be a struggle each month, but I believe firmly that we need to honor our obligations and do what we said we were going to do. The only way to do that is to support each other, utilize some of our space. I do a monthly newsletter and I believe in promoting people in that. I have a section back here set up for the community; I have a local Avon gal, the Nampa Fit studio, the individuals at the hair salon and anybody else that comes in and has a business that they want to promote can come here into the store and promote it.”

Merilee helps others that are not business owners, as well, and has reaped rewards from this:

“It’s not in a monetary way so much. One way it comes back to me is the satisfaction. If I donated for a drawing and they’ve won a $25 gift certificate; the joy on someone’s face when they get to come in, splurge and get something for themselves that they probably wouldn’t have otherwise…There’s that. The money that it generates; going to local schools or programs like the Family Justice Center; it’s just a feel-good feeling.”

Customers are not only appreciated, they’re also rewarded for their loyalty.

“My customers are the best,” Merilee shared, displaying her bright smile, “They’re friends. I try and get to know all of them on a first-name basis and remember them when they come back through the door. They’re very loyal. It’s a known, proven fact: Everybody knows that your customers are your best advertisers. They pride themselves on sending people here. ‘I told so-and-so about this.’ ‘I tell everybody about you’. My customers care that my doors stay open. That means the world to me. It means more than anything to have a customer come in and look me in the eye and be genuinely concerned about how my business is doing. That’s why I started the Refer-A-Friend program. I wanted to reward and thank them so much for sending people my way. I enjoy seeing them come through the door.”

Why ‘Flaunt Your Individuality’?

“Your confidence level rises! If you like what you’re wearing and you look good, your whole day…you’ve got it made. It’s hard to frown when you look good! When you can coordinate and you get compliments, and it’s all day long ‘Oh my gosh, I love your earrings!’ or ‘Oh my gosh, I love your shoes!’ you lighten up!”

Lightening up and spreading that light is what Merilee seems to do best.

Visit Idaho Bag Ladies today and get individualized style, coordination, and appreciation. Merilee guarantees all three.

Making A Difference At North Star Books

How do you describe a bookstore owner who shares her birthday cake with her many customers?

Sweet.

This year, Donelda’s mother-in-law brought her a huge cake to share at the store.

“It was so good,” Donelda told me with a smile.

Good.
That’s another word that describes this place.

There’s a goodness that’s tangible; you can sense it when you walk through the doors. There’s an underlying reason for that. Donelda and her husband Rick were raised with the idea of sharing and giving, which is what they do at North Star Books. They give and share more than just product and books, although those things are a focus.

“When you become our customer, you become our friend,” Donelda says, “We hear people’s stories a lot. Many are coming in for help with their lives, or they’re helping someone else. They share their stories. You just automatically connect hearts with people. We just share lives.”

When asked about the unique atmosphere, Donelda nodded in agreement:“We knew from the beginning that it would be more of an experience for people to come here, beyond the product. Lots of times people have said they come just for the peace. We’ve had people that say, ‘I just need thirty minutes of this place’ and they just sit for a while or wander around, and then they feel like they can face whatever they need to face because they’ve felt a peace here.”

Putting the bookstore together took some time. The owners told me it was ‘totally a God thing’. Neither one had thought of owning a bookstore. They’d been looking for a change, though, and as they got further and further into the process, North Star Books' birth began with no turning back.

Meant to become a place where people could find hope and experience what they possibly never have before, the term ‘Christian’ was purposely left off the sign so that everyone would feel welcome. A few, seeing what they’d walked into and sensing the spiritual nature of the store, turn around and walk right back out. Most of the time, however, there is something about the place that makes one want to linger.

With a coffee shoppe with coffee and a few snacks in the back of the store, this is the ideal place for a one-on-one or intimate gathering. Cushy armchairs are found in the sunny corners and a safe quiet abounds.The products displayed are ones you won’t have to shield your child’s eyes over. Books, greeting cards, and movies for either sale or rent are family-friendly, always.

How do Donelda and Rick define success? Their answer has probably changed over the years.“The days we feel best is when we know we’ve touched ‘the one’,” Donelda told me, “We’ve really had to re-define success and not look at numbers, but at the lives we can touch. There are times when we’ve looked at the numbers and tell ourselves to step away and instead ask, ‘Okay, who was the one today that needed us to be here? That needed a prayer or touch or direction on a book or card or something? When we can pinpoint the one, I think that’s the biggest thing.”

When they hear stories of people returning once again to church, or deciding to let God take the wheel of their lives, Donelda and Rick do a mental high-five, because that’s why they’re here. Bibles that are going out to new believers are prayed over, as well as the intended reader.

“Many people are shocked when you pray for them, and to me, that’s sad,” Donelda shared, “As Christians we should be praying regularly. One lady said, ‘Wow, that’s never happened to me before. I guess I should expect it at a Christian bookstore, but that’s never happened to me before.’ The customer’s story was so touching to me because she was buying something for a little girl that had just lost both of her parents. I asked her if I could pray for her and for that little girl. This is what I love the most, having so many opportunities to touch people’s lives, to care for them and to pray for them. It really makes a difference. It makes such a difference. That’s the best part of the job.”

“We pray for our customers daily,” she continued, “That they’ll find what they need to find, and that they’ll feel the love of God. Through our product, through our atmosphere, through our touch. Sometimes we can just tell a person is hurting. If we don’t say, ‘Can we pray for you?’, when that person leaves we stop and pray for them, because we know they’re hurting; you can see it on their face.”

When asked about the inventory, Donelda says, “There are so many books I’d love to order. I want to read them before they go out onto the shelves, preview this or that book because it sounds really good.”

I asked if she had one in mind to recommend, and I could see Donelda scanning her memory for just the right one to tell me about. Her eyes lit up when she decided upon the one to share with me. It was a perfect introduction to what is on the shelves at North Star Books:

“There was one I told Rick ‘you have to read this’. It was called ‘Filming God’. It’s about the person who filmed Furious Love and Finger of God. I guess the story is about making these films. It was incredible. As a filmmaker, this man ran out of ideas. His wife said ‘Why don’t you ask God for an idea?’ He was like, ‘Yeah right, that’s only for people who aren’t creative enough to come up with their own ideas.’ He just fought it and fought it.”

“Finally, he asked. Within thirty minutes of asking, he filled notebook paper after paper with ideas. It took him on a journey. The main idea was to film what God was doing in people’s lives, and how God was moving, and it took him on an adventure that he wasn’t really comfortable with. Everything always needed to make sense to him, and everything needed to be nice and neat and comfortable.”Donelda sat back in her chair and knowingly smiled.

“This was not comfortable or nice or neat or in a box, or explainable. This was his journey of discovering and filming God. That book made me really excited for this place; it made me excited for what could be when you let God out of the box and when you’re obedient to what He asks you to do; what could happen.”

“The best stories you hear are God stories,” said the sweet, good, giving and sharing co-owner of North Star Books, then she added, “ I mean, what else would you want to talk about?”

A visit to North Star Books is exactly as the owners intended; an experience.
Experience the tranquility of North Star Books today.