What once was

Hi everyone,

Yesterday SANDY found an old flyer I made for our gift store, GAMBLE’S Gifts, that we owned and operated for thirty-four years from 1984 to 2018. After she retired from being a high school counselor, Sandy managed the store for twenty years until closing it. We had a wonderful staff who cared about people and were experts about our product lines. The pictures show one of our Christmas seasons. Dressing up a store to look like that was a labor of love.

Sandy still misses the store, staff, and customers and the buying trips to Dallas, Atlanta, New York, and Las Vegas, and other markets. I was on most of those trips too. My other involvement was to spend some time weekly doing back-office work, making some of our promotional pieces (especially in the early years), and designing the new layout each time we relocated the store (3) to be closer to our customer base.

We carried a lot of lines, some of them exclusively. The flyer lists Crystals: Baccarat, Lalique, Marquis by Waterford, Miller Rogaska, and Waterford. China: Christian Dior, Fitz and Floyd, Lenox, Noritake, Ralph Lauren, Royal Doulton, Spode, Villeroy and Boch, and Wedgwood. Collectibles: Department 56, Hummel, Lladro, Lowell Davis, Swarovski, All God’s Children, Bunnykins by Royal Doulton, and numerous others, and Giftware: Arthur Court, Brass by Baldwin, Fine Linens, Jewelry, Music Boxes, Root Candles, Wind Chimes, Picture Frames, Capodimonte Florals, and a host of others over the decades.

Sometimes, during quite moments of reflection, we look back at something we’ve done that we’re proud of. I feel that way about Gamble’s Gifts, but it was Sandy’s show and became an important part of her daily life for a very long time. I know she misses the store. I know she is proud of what she accomplished. She should be.

Taking fun where you find it

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was the last day of our lease so it was all hands on deck to take down shelves, take out trash, and clean up and haul away the final loads of odds and ends. To relieve the tedium, Jeff and friend/neighbor Linda Goodman engaged in a duel with yard sticks. You have to take your grins where you can find them.

Thanks to Robin, Tim, Jeff, and Linda for all their help. We were nearly too weary to stand by the time we finished at 8:00 or so last night. Now we have everything that was left of Gamble’s safely stored so that Sandy can greet customers and go about the business of placing remaining merchandise for sale online.

Out of the desert soon!

Hi everyone,

Still working at winding down the store. We are in the final days and trying to figure out how to price and advertise the fixtures, desks, computers, etc. All remaining merchandise is now discounted 60-70%. If you live in the area and want to take advantage of the bargains, don’t put it off much longer. Gamble’s is about to become part of Springfield history.

On a cheerier note, yesterday I completed revising the final chapter in the desert novel and today I’m assembling the individual chapters into one document so I can sit down and read through it one last time before sharing it. I also sent out two proposals yesterday so I’m on schedule for what I hoped to get done this week. Next up, that SOUR poem.

Gamble’s Retirement Sale

Hi everyone,

Sandy and I have decided to retire from business and close out our wonderful gift store, Gamble’s. The process of winding down began May 1 and will continue through the end of this month or into early June. Discounts are from 50-60% on all products storewide.

We bought the store from Franklin Gamble in December 1984, more than thirty-three years ago. When our original partners, Larry and Maryann Wakefield, sold us their half after a few years, we continued to operate the store.

For Sandy, this has been more than a business, it has been an important part of her life. She rarely misses spending at least part of the day at the store and we’ve lost track of the number of trips to gift markets in Atlanta, New York, Kansas City, Dallas, San Francisco, and Las Vegas to find fresh lines of gifts to bring to Springfield.

Gamble’s has long been recognized as a premier gift store. “A gift from Gamble’s say it all.” For decades our store has been the largest Waterford Crystal dealer in the area. We’ve been the only Lladro dealer in southwest Missouri and surrounding areas. Over the years the store has provided Baccarat Crystal, Lalique Crystal, numerous other fine crystals, hundreds of patterns of china, and an enormous variety of other product lines.

This has been an extremely difficult decision. I know my wife is going to miss the daily pleasure of serving her friends and customers, many of whom have been loyal to Gamble’s since their parents used to bring them in when they were children.

If you live in the area and would like to visit one of the oldest gift stores in the region before it goes out of existence, please stop in to see Sandy and our helpful, knowledgeable staff — Pam, Brenda, Stephanie, and Jan — and take advantage of the prices. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and whatever you purchase will be on hand when you need it for some upcoming occasion.

Our address is 2704 S. Glenstone in the Brentwood Shopping Center across from the Mall. Phone number is 417-881-7555.
https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/business/2015/05/16/gambles-gifts-stands-test-time/27449093/ https://gamblesgifts.bridgecatalog.com

Don’t let the construction up and down the center throw you. We’re open! But not for much longer.