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SOUTH BEND - What started out as an idea for a portrait painting shop in Mishawaka turned led into Erica's Craft and Sewing Center.
On April 15, Erica and Dick Broecker along with their daughter Cathy Young and son Bill, who take active roles in the business, celebrated their 30th anniversary in business.
"I was starting with portrait paintings and put needlework and yarn with it until the portrait part took off," said Erica Broecker. The shop was a 400-square-foot-area of building behind another storefront, and it had no bathrooms. "The other (needle work and yarn) was so popular, there was no way for me to take time to do portraits as intended."
Erica's Craft and Sewing Center became solidly rooted in craft work at that point, and Erica decided to focus on the area of the business that was seeing the most results. If she would have had more time to concentrate on the portraits, they might have taken off, but so many other aspects of the business needed her attention leaving no time for the portraits.
"One, employee and me had shoe boxes for inventory with marked index cards," recalls Erica of her early beginnings in business.
She planned her business with a great deal of encouragement and support from her father. Unfortunately, two weeks before the store opened, he died, and Erica's husband Dick took over his father-inlaw's business. After a year of keeping that business. Dick sold the company and decided to take an active part...