Angelou's legacy: 'uplifting courage'
By STEPHEN TAIT
Times Herald (Port Huron, MI), February 14, 2009
Maya Angelou may be a writer, may be black and may be a woman, but people such as Jackie Wilson say Angelou transcends each of those distinctions.
"She is very strong in saying you need to stand up for yourself," Wilson, a writer and bookstore owner, said. "Uplifting courage, that is her legacy.
"She has the ability (with her writing) to blur the lines, to say this has nothing to do with race and sex and color, but this is just who you are."
Angelou is a writer of prose and poetry, a playwright and actor, a civil-rights activist and black woman.
She is known best for her autobiographies and poetry, for which she has won numerous awards.
"She's certainly a person who's had a tremendous impact on the literary world," said Jim Warwick, director of the St. Clair County library.
Wilson...said Angelou's writing has stretched through several generations of Americans.
She says Angelou's writing is able to do that because it is as powerful today as it was in the 1950s.
Wilson said the topics are broad and brutal: forgiveness, childhood starvation and Angelou's own childhood rape.
"I think a lot of people connect with that sort of haunting truthfulness," Wilson said. "But she also has this strange ability to be uplifting about it."
Contact Stephen Tait at (810) 989-6275 or at stait@gannett.com.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009902140318
Business owners work right at home
Voice Staff Writer
As the World Wide Web continues to address consumer needs, a new window of opportunity has opened up for entrepreneurs - online businesses.
In this economy, where many conventional stores are being forced to close their doors, business owners are coming up with creative alternatives to connect with potential customers. Laurie Riehl of Algonac found a way to reach her clientele six years ago when she began an online jewelry-maker's supply store called FineDings.com.
To get started, she tracked eBay sales for 20 different product items - paying attention to who was selling what and what was selling, she said. She also researched sources for inventory and made a spreadsheet to record her findings.
She started small, to keep her losses to a minimum, in case the business went belly up.
"I started out with $200 cash and eight inventory items," she said. "I thought, 'what the heck. If I end up losing the money, it's only $200.'"
goes onlineCourtesy Photo
The small mom and pop stores seem to get hit the hardest when the economy takes a dive. Todd and Jackie Wilson closed their downtown Marine City bookstore, The Book Blues, after more than two years in the community and reopened the business online only - well, almost online only.
"We still want to maintain a community focus," Jackie Wilson said. "We plan to continue sponsoring book-signing events as well as offering free classes on topics including marketing small businesses and building Web sites. There's a huge audience for it, especially in this economy."
Wilson is no stranger to online sales, which made it easy for the East China Township couple to transition the bookstore online. For the last six years, she has operated an Internet business selling a rather unique specialty item centered on a sentimental theme."I have a trendy women's T-shirt boutique based on lips or a kiss," she said.
The idea started out one Christmas when she made gifts for her family, using her lips for the creative design. It was such a hit that her husband encouraged her to market the item - hence the birth of the Explosive Kiss Web store.
Wilson said there are businesses, called fulfillment companies, already in place that provide all the services needed to run an online store.
"They take care of everything," she said. "They set up the online store. They warehouse your items so you don't have to rent a warehouse, and take care of credit cards payments, even detecting fraudulent cards. It runs itself."
That frees Wilson to do what she loves best.
"I do the creative, artsy stuff," she said. "I create the product designs and the Web site that I link to the store."
Besides the lagging economy, there was another reason the owners decided to change the way they were doing business - daughter, Ella, who celebrates her first birthday next month.
"With a new baby, it made more sense for our family to close the physical retail storefront completely and go online only," she said.
Wilson also has a background in corporate education and operates a consulting business. She has some practical advice for future online entrepreneurs that began with - of all things - education.
"The biggest thing I can recommend is do the research for the industry," she said. "Great ideas are nothing if you didn't understand the business aspect. It's just not going to work out. Take a basic business class. It all might seem boring, but you have to go through all the boring stuff first. And it comes in handy later when the creative ideas run out."
Contact Jeri Packer at (586) 716-8100, ext. 302 or jeri.packer@voicenews.com.
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, December 26, 2007, The Voice News
MC entrepreneurs ask for community support
Book Blues owners urge, 'shop local'
by Jeri Packer
Voice staff writer
Jacqueline and Todd Wilson, owners of The Book Blues Bookstore in Marine City aren't shy about expressing their passion to keep their local family-owned business alive.
"In the movie, You've Got Mail, Meg Ryan starts a 'Save the Shop Around the Corner' campaign when the viability of her independent children's bookstore is threatened by a big box chain store moving in across the street," Jackie Wilson stated in a recent press release.
Now, she insists, it's their turn to fight.
The couple swallowed their pride and recently wrote a letter to the community they have grown to love, letting them know that their store was in danger of closing.
"It was a tough decision, but basically we decided to let our customers and the community know what was going on," Wilson said. "We felt that if the community really wanted us to stay, then we should give them the chance to exhibit that. We especially owe it to the loyal customers."
Wilson said the customer response was overwhelming, but they are being "cautiously optimistic" about the current support being enough to carry them through the coming months after all the publicity dies down.
The Wilson's moved from the Washington D.C. area to open The Book Blues in downtown Marine City in June 2006. The store is on the corner of Water and Broadway streets, two of the main arteries into the downtown area. Jackie Wilson is also a writing consultant and published author. In addition, she runs an online women's tee shirt boutique called Explosive Kiss T-shirts at explosivekiss.com.
"All the merchandise is kiss-based," she said. "They all have lips on them in some creative way."
Wilson said The Book Blues is not just your average, run-of-the-mill bookstore.
"We're a pretty unique used bookstore," she explained. "The majority of our books are used, but they are of a quality superior to other used bookstores."
She explained that the store is set up to look and feel like a bookstore that sells all-new books.
"People come in and ask where's your used books?' she said. "That's how good they look."
The store carries a limited amount of new book releases, but they will order new books at a 15 percent discount to the customer, with no shipping costs added.
In the year-and-a-half they have owned the store, the local entrepreneurs have become known for their community involvement by sponsoring classes and organizing local events.
They organize community events like the recent Trick or Treat Trail that brought more than 300 people to local businesses in Marine City, said Wilson.
The couple also makes it a point to bring in local authors to the store, such as Roger LeLievre, author of "Know Your Ships," and New Baltimore Officer Tim Lindstrom, author of "The Adventures of Cubby."
They also consider "cross-promotion" to be a strong focal point for their store and encourage their patrons to also shop at other local businesses in town.
"We've been one of the strongest business supporters in the area," Wilson said.
What can the community do to show their support?
"Buy your dog food at the local pet store. Get your books at the local bookstore," Wilson said.
"Independent businesses can turn around quickly. It's only been in the last three months that we've had any trouble. It's easier to shop at a one-stop big-box store and it may be cheaper and more convenient, but if you like to live in a small community, you have to shop in the community. If you don't shop at our stores regularly - and not just every few months - we're going to be gone."
Wilson added that much of the real character of a historical community derives from the independent, private-owned stores lining the streets.
Christine Kadey is a regular customer at the corner bookstore and said she would miss patronizing the "delightful" shop, situated across from the St. Clair River, should they be forced to close. She believes the family-owned businesses are part of what makes Marine City the town that it is.
"I have a real heart for Marine City and I want to see it prosper," she said. "I try to shop Marine City first always. It's like being patriotic."
Judy White, President of the Marine City Chamber of Commerce, works with local businesses, providing support and education to local business-owners.
"Speaking as a dyed-in-the-wool 'bibliophile', any hint of a bookstore closing is cause for alarm," she said. "Recent economic news shows sales better than expected in November so hopefully that trend will continue and boost business for Book Blues and all retail in Marine City."
Whatever the future economic trends, the Wilson's will have to decide quickly whether they will continue to work and serve in Marine City. Their lease, with a one-month extension, expires the end of January. And with their first baby due in March, these "mom and pop storeowners" will be making some major family decisions soon.
Struggling bookstore makes plea to patrons
Marine City's Book Blues faces closure
By NICOLE GERRING, Times Herald
MARINE CITY- For a year and a half, the cozy bookstore on the corner of Water and Broadway streets has been a haven for young moms, retirees, teenagers and other community members.
Now, like many locally owned shops, the Book Blues is feeling the pinch of Michigan's struggling economy.
Earlier this month, Book Blues owners Jackie and Todd Wilson sent an e-mail to loyal customers with some bad news. If business doesn't improve by late January, the popular bookstore will close.
The Wilsons are turning to their loyal customers for survival and have launched a campaign called "Save the Book Blues: Shop locally or there will be no local shops."
Although Jackie, a former college instructor and marketing manager, acknowledges it was an unorthodox move to make the store's status so public, she said she wanted to inform her regular customers of the precarious situation.
"The people who have supported us deserve to know instead of what many businesses do, which is packing up in the middle of the night without an explanation," she said. "Now's the time to show your love or we won't be here."
The Wilsons prize themselves on their connections with customers and on the store's inviting atmosphere. The store, which sells used and new books, offers free coffee to customers and features comfortable chairs and couches where people can rest their feet while turning pages. A children's area includes small chairs, bean bags and plush toys and allows young customers to scope out books filed away in a cubby.
Kim Mucciante of St. Clair dropped by the store Thursday morning looking for the latest Harry Potter novel.
"(My kids) love the children's section," she said. "It's really cozy in here. This is a nice cultural thing. It's more cultural than what we usually have around here. It's a great bookstore."
Mucciante was surprised the store may have to close its doors. The "nice personal touch" makes the Book Blues stand out from big box retailers such as Barnes & Noble Booksellers, she said.
"There's nothing here like this," she told Jackie. "I hope you stay."
The Wilsons, who on a whim moved to Marine City from northern Virginia a few years ago, don't want to close. Before a lull arrived this fall, the store was doing pretty well, Jackie said.
The business usually brings in only a little more than what it spends, so even a short slow spell can have a large impact, she said.
"It can change overnight for a small business," she said. "We run pretty close to what we make."
Recently, the family has had to subsidize the business with their own money.
Todd Wilson works full time as a sales director for a home entertainment company. Jackie, who manages the store, never has paid herself a salary.
As the couple prepares to have their first baby in March, they can't continue running a slow business, she said.
"How the community reacts and continues to support us could really save us," she said.
Contact Nicole Gerring at (810) 989-6270 or ngerring@gannett.com.
Originally published December 22, 2007
From the Shelbyville News, September 21, 2005
Triton Central graduate stays busy with T-shirt company, writing books
By STEVE TALBERT NEWS correspondent
Embracing the basic business strategy of “find a need and fill it,” Jacqueline (Williams) Wilson launched a unique line of trendy-yet-affordable T-shirts for women when she couldn’t find what she was looking for in department stores.
“Up until a few years ago, I spent anywhere from 50 to 80 hours a week dressed in business suits or proper business attire,” Wilson said. “Although I always liked to dress trendy, I soon found that my wardrobe contained fewer and fewer jeans and even fewer casual shirts.”
When Wilson, a 1987 Triton Central High School graduate, started working at home, she began looking for fashionable-yet-comfortable clothes to wear around the house and out with friends. “I soon found that I was disappointed at many of the casual shirts on the market. Too boxy or manly or unoriginal or expensive,” Wilson said.
“When shopping at a department store, I was amazed at the price of some of the T-shirts.”
Inspired by the idea of creating her own shirts, the former Fairland resident found a California-based company to print the T-shirts and to take care of the e-store part.
“My T-biz came about the same way that everything does for me,” she said. “It just starts as a thought, and the next thing I know, I’m doing it!”
Called “Explosive Kiss,” Wilson’s original T-shirt line features large lips and cute sayings, including the popular “Kiss the Bride,” “Kiss the Bridesmaid” and “Kiss the Boys and Make Them Cry.”
Advertisements for the former Fairland resident’s apparel have appeared in US Magazine and Elegant Bride magazine. Her exclusive items are available at authorized specialty boutiques and online at www.explosivekiss.com.
Wilson, 36, designed her Web site and all of her products. “I make the artwork,” she said. “I come up with the ideas, and then make the sayings and art.” The shirts incorporate an imaging process that Wilson calls “artography,” the melding of art and photography.
“Sometimes images are digitally manipulated,” Wilson said, “and sometimes they are physically manipulated to capture a unique perspective.”
Wanting something unique and catchy, Wilson created artsy images of her own lips.
“I made a print of my lips with an ‘exploding’ background a la ‘Explosive Kiss,’” Wilson said. “I’ll be expanding beyond kiss-themed stuff someday.”
Wilson’s passion for design stems from a lifelong love of photography.
“My experience came from playing with my father’s old 35 mm camera ... and then later a Polaroid camera,” she said.
“My photographs and artography are representative of moods and situations that capture my attention.”
Since its launch in 2004, “Explosive Kiss” has garnered attention from both buyers and sellers.
“I get lots of e-mails from people who love my stuff,” she said, “and I have a huge amount of interest from boutiques who want to be re-sellers. Right now, I’m in the conundrum of deciding whether I want to be a retailer or a re-seller solely.
Deeply moved by the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, Wilson is creating a non-kiss-related category of T-shirts and cards. At least through 2005, 50 percent of the profits will be donated to the Red Cross, Convoy of Hope and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for relief efforts.
“That covers things that are near and dear to my heart: helping people, New Orleans and animals,” she said.
A registered health-information administrator, Wilson is a freelance writer and consultant in the health-care arena. She also has taught medical-specialty college courses — including medical terminology and anatomy, standards in health care, technology in health care, fundamentals of health-information systems, curriculum development and clinical-documentation standards — in classrooms and via the Internet.
The author of several unpublished children’s books, Wilson recently finished “The Quarter,” a mystery novel that is set in New Orleans. “‘The Quarter’s’ main character is Tory Rockton — a psychologist living in the Washington, D.C., area,” Wilson said.
“Tory’s affluent life is turned upside-down with the sudden and inexplicable death of her relatively healthy mother. A box of unusual family clues takes Tory on a journey of twists and turns through New Orleans voodoo country — including plantations, bars, cemeteries and hospitals — in search of answers.”
Incorporating fact into her fiction, Wilson is rewriting the book epilogue to include Hurricane Katrina.
“The Payer,” Wilson’s second novel in a planned New Orleans mystery series, also reflects the Katrina Hurricane damage and devastation. Soon, Wilson will post excerpts from both books at www.JacquelineWilson.info.
Wilson has never lived in New Orleans, but she has been a frequent visitor. “I’m fascinated by New Orleans and its mix of extremes — from Catholicism to voodoo, from extremely wealthy to extremely poverty-stricken, from the highly educated and cultured to uneducated and the mix of English, French, Cajun and Creole languages and cultures,” she said.
“People have always fascinated me, and I love to see interaction of people with different backgrounds and viewpoints.”
Wilson is currently working on a large-scale philanthropic program, called Project KISS, to help women in unfortunate circumstances.
Project KISS evolved because it was a given that my company would be involved in some humanitarian effort,” she said. “I always have been involved ... have always volunteered.
Still in the developmental stages, Wilson’s Web site will include valuable information and links to free resources, including suicide hotlines and abuse help. She even hopes to provide, through donations, free business outfits suitable for interviews.
The former Fairland resident received a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University School of Medicine, School of Allied Health, in Indianapolis in 1992. Wilson recently received the 2005 Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers® award to honor her commitment to students and teaching in the medical field. She and her husband, Todd Wilson, a sales director for Epson’s home division, reside in the Southeastern Blue Water Region of Michigan. Her older brother, Jeff Williams, lives in Fountaintown. Their parents, Ken and Linda Williams, still live in Fairland.
