The January 30 presenter for the meeting of the Rotary Club of Heber Springs was Pam Rotter, owner of Charlie Boy Designs, a downtown Heber Springs business. Although her background is in corporate event planning, Pam has found a second career in home décor and design. Charlie Boy Designs started three years ago out of grief and love, after the loss of her dearly loved dog, Charlie, the namesake of the business. After the death of Charlie, Pam began wreathmaking as a way of coping with her loss. The creative process helped her through her grief, and she began giving her creations to friends and family.
It wasn’t long before she realized that her hobby was becoming expensive, and if she wanted to continue, she would need to sell some of her creations. She opened an etsy shop, and over the next year began displaying her creations in arts and crafts fairs, craft shows, and flea markets. She also created some wreaths for the Razorback Banquet, which led to having a booth for her wares at the Ozark Trail Fest in 2016. Because of her booth at the Trail Fest, she was also given the opportunity to demonstrate wreath-making on KATV Channel 7 in Little Rock.
In Fall of 2016, Pam, who is a great supporter of Downtown Heber Springs, opened her first “pop up shop” for the Holiday Season. It was successful enough that she decided to open a second pop up shop for the 2017 Holiday Season. That shop, located next to the Gem Theater, was also such a success, that she has decided to keep a storefront location for her business. Currently, Pam is moving to the new location, the Bottle Tree Gallery, next to Old City Hall on Main Street.
During the last year, Pam has also ventured into teaching others her craft, by holding wreath-making and centerpiece making classes, and has recently ventured into online tutorials through her Facebook group and business page. Pam said, “Social Media is the way to go, if you’re going to have a business today,” and she spends a lot of time marketing her business through her various social media accounts. She also credits much of her success to surrounding herself with mentors in the business, saying, “Surround yourself with the best people who do what you do.”
For 2018, in addition to the establishment of her new store location, Pam plans to continue her Facebook tutorial classes twice weekly, her in-store classes, and work toward building a website for her business. The new store location will be opening soon, and the first wreath-making class of the season is planned for February 3. Additional classes will be scheduled throughout the year, creating crafts according to the season. For more information, check out Charlie Boy Designs’ Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/charlieboydesigns421/
Rotarians are “People of Action” who are making a difference locally, nationally and internationally. The Object of Rotary is "to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise." The Rotary Club of Heber Springs meets each Tuesday at noon on the ASU-Heber Springs Campus. For more information about the Rotary Club of Heber Springs, please visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/TheRotaryClubofHeberSpringsAR.
