Carousel goes round and round for 20 years
November 25, 2009
By Christopher Huber
By Christopher Huber
Five minutes before Linda Gibson opened the doors to Party Carousel the evening of Nov. 19, friends and longtime customers had lined up all the way to Starbucks, two storefronts down. The Gibson family wasn’t just throwing a special holiday sale, but a full-blown celebration for their 20 years in business in Sammamish.
People flooded into the store, located in the Pine Lake Village shopping center. The place was abuzz with eager shoppers perusing shelves of gifts, decorations and other festive items. Children munched on and passed out chocolates and cookies as adults sampled goodies and drinks from the refreshments table.
The Gibsons opened Party Carousel here Nov. 4, 1989. If the number of people who came to the bithday party is any indication, they have cultivated a loyal customer base over the years.
“Their creative energy has really fed the community,” said supplier En-May Mangels as she stocked spools of ribbon. “They know everyone by name.”
Gibson, from Fall City, now maintains two stores, in Sammamish and Redmond Town Center, with her daughters Joelle and Alyssa Gibson.
Joelle Gibson said she remembers growing up helping her mom prepare holiday decorations on Thanksgiving Day. They tied bows, and crafted many other festive decorations to deck out the store the day after Thanksgiving, as was tradition, she said.
“This is a wonderful little gift shop-type store. We need this store,” said Sammamish resident and loyal customer Sandy Cartmell. “It’s so diversified. People obviously know they do something for the community.”
As the economy has ebbed and flowed in the past 20 years, Linda Gibson said the reason she kept Party Carousel afloat was changing with the needs and building genuine relationships with patrons.
It lasted all these years, “because we listened to our customers,” she said. “We really do care about our customers.”
An example she gave was of a woman who came by before store hours. She was in a hurry to buy something for a party. Instead of coming back to browse herself, she slipped her credit card under the door with a note asking Linda to pick something out for her to pick up later.
“We take care of our customers and they take care of us,” Gibson said as she took a break from socializing.
Currently Linda Gibson employs six people and they tend to like working there, said employee Cathy Gregory.
“The employees that come here, they stay,” she said.
Linda Gibson said Joelle and Alyssa will eventually take over the business, but until then, the family will continue to build relationships on the plateau.
“It’s kind of like an extended family,” said Linda’s husband, John Gibson.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
Five minutes before Linda Gibson opened the doors to Party Carousel the evening of Nov. 19, friends and longtime customers had lined up all the way to Starbucks, two storefronts down. The Gibson family wasn’t just throwing a special holiday sale, but a full-blown celebration for their 20 years in business in Sammamish.
People flooded into the store, located in the Pine Lake Village shopping center. The place was abuzz with eager shoppers perusing shelves of gifts, decorations and other festive items. Children munched on and passed out chocolates and cookies as adults sampled goodies and drinks from the refreshments table.
Five-year employee Kerstin Aarestad, left, talks with Sandy Cartmell, of Sammamish, near the refreshment table during the Party Carousel 20th anniversary party Nov. 19. Photo by Christopher Huber
The Gibsons opened Party Carousel here Nov. 4, 1989. If the number of people who came to the bithday party is any indication, they have cultivated a loyal customer base over the years.
“Their creative energy has really fed the community,” said supplier En-May Mangels as she stocked spools of ribbon. “They know everyone by name.”
Gibson, from Fall City, now maintains two stores, in Sammamish and Redmond Town Center, with her daughters Joelle and Alyssa Gibson.
Joelle Gibson said she remembers growing up helping her mom prepare holiday decorations on Thanksgiving Day. They tied bows, and crafted many other festive decorations to deck out the store the day after Thanksgiving, as was tradition, she said.
“This is a wonderful little gift shop-type store. We need this store,” said Sammamish resident and loyal customer Sandy Cartmell. “It’s so diversified. People obviously know they do something for the community.”
As the economy has ebbed and flowed in the past 20 years, Linda Gibson said the reason she kept Party Carousel afloat was changing with the needs and building genuine relationships with patrons.
It lasted all these years, “because we listened to our customers,” she said. “We really do care about our customers.”
An example she gave was of a woman who came by before store hours. She was in a hurry to buy something for a party. Instead of coming back to browse herself, she slipped her credit card under the door with a note asking Linda to pick something out for her to pick up later.
“We take care of our customers and they take care of us,” Gibson said as she took a break from socializing.
Currently Linda Gibson employs six people and they tend to like working there, said employee Cathy Gregory.
“The employees that come here, they stay,” she said.
Linda Gibson said Joelle and Alyssa will eventually take over the business, but until then, the family will continue to build relationships on the plateau.
“It’s kind of like an extended family,” said Linda’s husband, John Gibson.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.
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