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Scrapbooking goes high-tech |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Wednesday, 11 October 2006 |
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Erin Hooley/
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Marsha Knackstedt of Leave a Legacy in Fort Collins sits in front of a design kiosk at her new store. Leave a Legacy, 1827 E. Harmony Road, will have its grand opening Oct. 13-14.
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With a new cutting-edge business, Marsha Knackstedt, 37, of Wellington is taking scrapbooking digital. Think of it as Martha Stewart meets Bill Gates. Instead of having paper, scissors, stickers, labels and photos strewn across the floor, Knackstedt lets clients design scrapbooks via computer.
“I used to be a consultant for a scrapbooking company and was ready for my business to run, but it wasn’t running with me,” she said.
After reading an article in The New York Times, Knackstedt knew just how many people were capturing their memories digitally. She already knew the popularity of scrapbooking, so she combined the concepts into one business. The grand opening of her new business Leave A Legacy, 1827 E. Harmony Road, in Fort Collins is this weekend.
The celebration will feature giveaways including one free hour and one free 12 x12 print, drawings for gold archival DVDs and USB drives, and free coffee and other drinks. Knackstedt hopes the grand opening will give her a chance to show exactly what her business is about.
“It’s difficult to explain all you can do here because you can’t relate it to anything else you can do,” she said.
Inside, computer kiosks are available where customers can open photos off a disk or scan them in to design creative pages on variety of decorative backgrounds.
Leave a Legacy charges 15 cents per minute for computer use and page printing starting at $3.95.
Examples of loving pages hang along the tranquil bluish lavender walls. In one frame is a picture of Knackstedts’ daughter in one corner, a scanned image of a piece of her artwork, and an image of a ribbon awarded for the work.
“You can have 3D elements on a flat print so it’s not bulky,” she said.
The shop also has a kids area where kids can play while parents work on projects.
Though Knackstedt has always loved preserving memories, her background lies with corn. She earned her bachelor’s in agronomy from Colorado State University and her doctorate degree in plant breeding from Kansas State University. Her corn-breeding business in Illinois has funded her new business endeavor.
In addition to her store, Knackstedt does business over the Internet, where people can order complete albums. She hopes to expand her company within the next year and is toying with the idea of franchising. Her goal is to provide people with a simple and convenient way to preserve memories.
“My audience is not me, it’s generations hundreds of years from now,” she said.
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VITAL STATS
Name: Marsha Knackstedt
Company: Leave A Legacy
Title: President/Owner/Digital Creations Specialist
How long have you worked there? Three months of planning and getting ready to open
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IN HER WORDS
What is it about this job that makes it challenging?
Pulling together the right suppliers and subcontractors.
Makes you get out of bed in the morning?
My three kids and my list of things that need done.
Things that impress you?
Honesty, professionalism, integrity and high quality.
Things that don’t?
Fame, ego and being in style.
How do young/new employees get ahead?
Dedication and a strong work ethic.
Did you ever think in a million years you’d work here?
No, I’ve had quite a diverse background and this is a cutting-edge idea.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you do?
Looking for the next great idea.
What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done while at work?
Bumped a trailer into a gas pump.
Smartest?
Listened to my father’s advice.
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever done to make money?
Breed corn
Any interesting anecdotes?
My husband never asked me to marry him. He handed me the box and said “you can wear this if you want”. There is a story behind this, so I eagerly accepted the ring and I’m still glad to wear it.
What’s the one thing you wish you could do on the job that you can’t right now?
Spend more time with family.
What do you do during your breaks?
Work or think about work.
What’s one thing about your job you would do, even if you weren’t paid to do it?
Preserving my family’s memories through pictures and stories.
Name one thing in your life that really prepared you for your job.
My father, as a role model of working hard and being an entrepreneur who is not afraid to try new things.
What’s the biggest payoff in your job?
Helping others preserve their life experiences for future generations.
Are you the boss? Do you think you should be?
Yes.
What do you do when you’re not at work?
Spend time with my husband and children, raise, breed and show Nigerian Dwarf goats.
Pets?
Five horses, 12 chickens, one rooster, 19 goats, 14 farm cats, three dogs
Family?
One husband, Wes (commercial and home inspector), three children Clinton, 14; Dillon, 11; and Aspen 9. My mother, Marvel, lives with us most of the time and In-laws are only a few minutes away.
Favorite TV shows.
“Survivor”, “The Apprentice” and “ER”
Movies.
“The Color Purple” and “Ferris Buller’s Day Off”
Books.
Bible, “Thorn Birds” and “East of Eden”.
What Web sites do you have bookmarked?
Digishoptalk, elementsuserforum
Where do you play?
At home and Fort Fun.
Go out to eat?
Incas, Chili’s and Armadillo.
Favorite spot?
Snuggled with my kids or husband.
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