Kansas Souvenirs
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Kansas Gifts
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Sheila Steenbock began her sunflower home Decor business fifteen years ago. When she couldn’t find anyone to paint a sunflower on her mailbox she decided to try painting it herself. She started by tracing sunflower patterns and gradually progressed to painting free-hand. Sheila found that she thoroughly enjoyed painting and began creating a variety of hand painted sunflower items. She has developed a painting style that is uniquely her own.
Because sunflower gifts had become so popular at the time, people began telling Sheila that she should sell her handcrafted sunflower art. She developed a large variety of sunflower home Decor which included many sunflower kitchen Decor items. So instead of going back to teaching school, she decided to become a professional decorative artist. Sunflowers are her specialty and the sunflower gifts have continued to be very popular over the years.
Sheila began her home-based professional crafting business, Kansas By Design, in 1991 which would later develop into an entire web site of handcrafted sunflower art. She continues to add new items every year to her long list of sunflower home Decor. Among her latest additions has been a group of Inspirational Gifts. She has also added many new items to the sunflower kitchen Decor category.
In 1996 Sheila’s husband, Bob, sold his electronics business and joined her in the Sunflower Decor business. Bob now does all the wood work, cutting, sanding and staining before Sheila hand paints each item. They have attended as many as thirty-five craft shows in a year and sell their handcrafted sunflower art in shops around the state of Kansas. They currently have merchandise in Topeka, Yoder, Manhattan, Abilene, Wilson, Salina, Hutchinson, Wichita, Ft. Riley, Belle Plaine, Belleville, and Clay Center.
Kansas customers especially have welcomed the sunflower home Decor items as an alternative to factory and imported ‘Kansas Gifts’. Bob and Sheila have made Kansas Souvenirs one of their specialties and supply four Kansas Tourist Information Shops with handcrafted Kansas Gifts and Kansas Souvenirs. One of these shops is on Interstate Highway 70 at Wilson, another is on Interstate Highway 35 south of Wichita, the third is on Interstate Highway 70 between Topeka and Kansas City and the fourth is at the intersection of Highway 81 and Highway 36 at Belleville. Nearly all of the Sunflower Decor items could be made into Kansas Souvenirs by adding ‘Kansas’ to them as we have personalized many of our gift items. Bob and Sheila are proud to offer a wide selection of handcrafted Kansas Gifts and Kansas Souvenirs. To view our Kansas Souvenir selection, please see the catalog list to the left of this page and go to ‘Kansas Gifts’.
Craft shows have taken them from Kansas City to Wichita, Dodge City, Garden City, Hutchinson, Salina and into Nebraska and the nationally known show in Hillsboro, Kansas. If you would like a current schedule of their shows please email them and they would be glad to send it to you. SunflowerDecor. Com has also advertised in the world famous magazine, “Country Sampler”. No matter where they go there are customers that love sunflowers or know someone who does.
Bob and Sheila’s sunflower gifts are also available wholesale. If interested please call or email and they will send you their wholesale price list. Please include your tax identification number.
Thousands of customers have come to appreciate the handcrafted sunflower gifts that Bob and Sheila produce. The fact that each item is handcrafted and hand painted makes them unique among sunflower gifts. Many of their gift items have been shipped around the world. Many tell us that their kitchen is decorated in sunflowers thus the popularity of our sunflower kitchen Decor.
With Bob joining the business they have been able to create and produce even more items for their list of sunflower home Decor. Among the very latest are the popular and reasonably priced personalized gifts. They are able to personalize nearly every item in their catalog at the customer’s request.
Bob and Sheila have long dreamed of expanding their business and sharing their work with sunflower lovers all over the country. In 2002 they decided to develop their web site, Sunflower Decor featuring sunflower gifts. It is their hope that this sunny sunflower site will help fulfill that dream by bringing pleasure to all those that visit.
Bob and Sheila have been married and lived in Clay Center, Kansas for over thirty years. They have two sons, a daughter-in-law and one grandson.
Photographs...
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