rochester post – 4.11.07

Catching Fireflies in Rochester

Artist turns hobby into successful business

by Jennifer S. McDonald

photos- Erin Sanchez

Luckily for April McCrumb, she decided not to pursue her first choice of occupations.  The 32-year-old from Beverly Hills graduated from Eastern Michigan University nine years ago with a bachelor’s degree in special education.

But before heading out into the "real world", she decided to take a year off, paying the bills by selling her paper products in Michigan’s art fair circuit.  She never thought her hobby would someday become a full-fledged business.

After she started to wholesale her creations through her own company, a.i. paper design, she and her husband, Steve, decided they needed to move the operation up and out of their home.  As luck would have it, they found a commercial business in downtown Berkley that used to house an old pharmacy.  They rented it and opened their doors in the fall of 2000.

They named the business, catching fireflies, after a favorite piece of artwork by Chris Roberts-Antieau.  It was the perfect name, McCrumb said.  "The name ‘catching fireflies’ was inspired by one of our favorite artworks," McCrumb said. "But it is also a lot more.  It’s that nostalgic feeling you get when you think back to those carefree days as a child.  It’s finding delight in the simple pleasures that you encounter every day."

What McCrumb found was simply amazing, she said.  The buzz about catching fireflies was catching on.  While their original goal was to simply pay for rent for the design studio, she said, catching fireflies began to turn a decent profit.  That’s when downtown Rochester came into the picture.

"We hoped to open a second store, and Rochester seemed like the perfect place to do that."  McCrumb said. "It’s such a close-knit community; we knew it’d be a great location for us and our delightful goodies."

When they first spotted the "for lease" sign on Rochester’s former train depot on East University, McCrumb knew it was meant to be.  It was the perfect location for another store, she said.  "(The depot) creates the experience people talk about.  I always like to be different.  I don’t want to be like anyone else," McCrumb said, referring to the purple, green, pink and orange walls.  Flowers of the same colors are painted on the floors.

The doors to the Rochester store opened in April 2006, and the store has been steadily growing in popularity every since.  catching fireflies employee Barb Barber said she likes the idea of different artists coming together for a common goal. "When people come into the store, it’s just filled with laughter.  That’s my favorite part," Barber said.  "The customers are wonderful.  As soon as they walk in, they smile."

catching fireflies is located at 203 E University.  The store has an assortment of works by local artists, in addition to house wares, jewleery, handmade soaps and lotions, and garden and kitchen accessories.

Customers will be offered a discount of 20% to celebrate catching fireflies’ first anniversary Saturday, April 21 from 10 am to 6 pm.  For more information, visit www.catchingfireflies.com or call 248 615 3318.