Chamber Featured Member of the Month
Posted November 4, 2019 at 5:47 am by Tim Dustrude
Cotton Cotton Cotton is the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce Member of the Month and they’re also celebrating Celebrating 10 Years!
Randy and Gail Schnee of Cotton Cotton Cotton – Contributed photo
Randy and I moved to the island from Orlando, Florida in October 2009 and purchased Cotton Cotton Cotton in November of that year. We came here on vacation in 2005 and fell in love with the island and the friendly community. It was our hope that we could find a business that could sustain us and allow us to give up our jobs in Florida and enjoy all the wonderful things that Friday Harbor has to offer. It took us 4 years but we were able to sell our house in Florida which allowed us to purchase the business and start our new lives here.
During our 10 years owning Cotton Cotton Cotton we were originally located at 165 First Street (where the Chamber of Commerce is located now). We moved into our current space at 260 Spring Street at Sundries Court, formerly known as Jeri’s Mall in November 2015.
Cotton Cotton Cotton was originally named Dolphin Arts and was owned by local artist Vivien Burnett which she started around 30 years ago at a location at Cannery Landing by the ferry dock. It was originally a t-shirt shop featuring her prints and by the time she sold to Christine Mays in 2007, it evolved into more of a boutique selling jewelry, cotton clothing and shoes, and by that time, the store’s name was changed to Cotton Cotton Cotton.
We purchased from Christine November 2009 and changed the style of the store to reflect what is important to us, bringing in as much Made In the USA products, clothing made out of recycled materials, and purchasing from Fair Trade companies as much as we can. We also carry locally made jewelry and other consignment items from local artists.
What drew us to Friday Harbor was the small town feel and the friendliness of the community. Coming from a big city, where you don’t know your neighbors, and your community is the company you work for, we longed for a place to live and work where people know you, care about you, and want you to be successful.
We feel that Friday Harbor has checked all of those boxes for us and feel privileged to own a store that has been part of the community for 30 years and we strive to continue our mission of carrying items in our store not only for the visitors to our island but for our local customers that have become our friends…
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Categories: Business, People
6 comments:
6 comments...
Congratulations and happy anniversary, Gail and Randy!
All good wishes to Gail and Randy…an incredible couple who are very much appreciated!
Congratulations, Gail and Randy! There is something else important that no customer ever misses in your store. That is those two wonderful smiles that greet each person who comes through your doors.
Big Congrats you guys! Love you guys, your store and your contribution to the community!
Way To Go, Schnee’s. It is a pleasure to shop in your store. You are both so gracious and in addition to wonderful clothing, it is always great to visit with you. And…..you are pet friendly; how cool is that!
Congratulations to you both. you’ve done such a great job of providing quality cotton clothing to the folks of Friday Harbor and visitors alike. Everyone loves your shop!
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