Today we’d like to introduce you to Jean And Jeff Kromer.
Hi Jean and Jeff , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Strollin’ The Beach began, literally, as I was strollin’ the beach one day. My husband, Jeff, and I have five children and have been a stay-at-home mom all the years as they grew. The beach was our place to get away, relax, unwind, and reflect. When our first child was going to graduate high school and enter college, we were shocked at the expense of tuition. I wanted a way that we could assist our children with their college expenses. So, while I was strollin’ the beach one day, thinking and praying, I got the idea of using the beautiful driftwood that I was walking over to create functional home décor. Could we take something that is naturally sculpted and smoothed by the winds and the waves and turn it into functional décor pieces that adorn our homes? From that idea, I talked with my extremely gifted, mechanically-minded husband about the possibilities of using the driftwood. He saw the vision, and we brainstormed about our business goals. We wanted to bring the beach into the home, to allow others to enjoy aspects of the beach daily. We wanted to earn money to assist our children with their college tuition. We wanted to use the gifts God has blessed us with to bless others.
So, in 2013, we decided to use our resources and skills to begin this little adventure, making home décor and wedding décor from Lake Erie driftwood. We are a husband-and-wife team. God has gifted both of us with skills that mesh to run our business. Jeff is the one to select and haul the loads of large driftwood pieces, and he is the creator of all the products involving the big tools! He is inventive and resourceful! He has so many great ideas. His craftsmanship and attention to detail is amazing. I love to collect the smaller driftwood pieces, design, create products that may incorporate paint or fabric, and assist Jeff in the workshop. I love to photograph the items we make, create listings, and provide customer service (the business end of the operations). Our business began by primarily selling on Etsy. We have now extended our presence to local handmade vendor markets and consignment boutiques. It is a pleasure to meet our customers face to face, making connections and friends.
We still have one more child to enter college. So, we will continue to stroll the area beaches, collect, sort, organize and create from the unique natural Lake Erie driftwood, and serve our customers the best we possibly can! We are loving every minute of this business adventure!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We feel blessed that we have been able to grow the business at a pace we are comfortable with. When business picks us and the events of life do simultaneously, things can get very busy. I think, as with any business, there have been challenging moments of balancing business time and family time! We have learned that taking it one day at a time is the only way to persevere!
Through the years we have designed many driftwood products and are always happy to work on custom orders. Because of all the experiences we have had, we feel we have found that niche market that has brought us a customer base we are so thankful for. Many of our repeat customers have become friends and we are looking forward to a wonderful year creating for and serving them!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think that the best word to describe Strollin’ the Beach is “unique”. The wood we use to create every product we make is Lake Erie driftwood. Every piece is uniquely drifted, weathered, and sculpted in nature by the wind, waves, and sun. When we cut and sand each driftwood piece, we are constantly astonished by the hidden beauty inside the drifted exteriors. We are amazed by the gorgeous grain colors and patterns, swirls, spalting, nature-made grooves, and even a star-shaped center in one species. Therefore, each product we create is going to look slightly different, even if the design is the same. The look is organic, not manufactured or fabricated.
We create driftwood jewelry stands, candle holders, business card holders, table number holders for weddings, coat racks, ring boxes, and so much more. Customers on Etsy love our driftwood shelves, and we are always happy to make custom styles and sizes. Customers at our markets love our driftwood sailboats with nautical colored fabric sails. Our most current popular item is our driftwood propagation stations that have vases for plant propagation or flowers. We are known for our superb craftsmanship. Our customers tell us this time and time again. We pride ourselves on quality workmanship and exceptional customer service. My husband, the creator of most of our items, is a do it right or don’t do it kind of guy!
Some of our most special products we have made are our signature series shelves that are made from extra special species of driftwood that we have found and the large-scale driftwood wall art that has been purchased for multiple restaurants in Guam.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Vermilion is known as A Small Town on a Great Lake, and that is what I like best! The town is relatively small and quiet in winter but starts coming to life in the warmer months. It is a postcard-perfect town, and the people are super friendly. It is a vacation town, a place to refresh and a getaway spot. But this is where we live all year round, and so we have many opportunities to feel like we are getting away! We live very close to Lake Erie. Our favorite thing to do in our town is going for a stroll on the beach on a warm summer night!
To me, the only downside of the town is the cold wind blowing off the lake in the middle of winter! Cold, snow-covered beaches are not quite as enjoyable as warm sandy ones! But when the snow melts, we find some beautiful driftwood!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/StrollinTheBeach
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/strollinthebeach
- Facebook: @strollinthebeach
