RIVERTON — Shelli Gardner never envisioned her living-room-size business — started along with sister LaVonne Crosby — would someday employ more than 100 people at a Kanab manufacturing plant and about 400 people at its headquarters and distribution facility.
But 17 years after its inception, Stampin' Up has continued growing up, and the new 300,000-square-foot headquarters/distribution center in Riverton epitomizes how much the decorative rubber stamp company has blossomed.
"In fact, when we started in October 1988, we thought we would just fill orders while the girls napped," Gardner, the company's chief executive officer, said Friday as the company celebrated the new facility. "My sister had two children and I had four, and we lived two doors apart. We just thought while they napped we'd fill orders and make phone calls and everybody would be happy. Three months later, we moved into a warehouse, and three
months later, we moved into another warehouse.
"You don't know when you start something how big it's going to get. A lot of people go into business expecting something. I don't think we had high expectations. We were just in it for fun — a little creativity, a little extra money and to help create something we couldn't find for ourselves."
From that start from a Las Vegas living room — empty because she could not afford furniture — has sprung a $220 million company that last year sold 6,875,000 stamp sets through a network of direct-sales demonstrators conducting home parties across the United States and Canada.
The new facility, with distinctive features inside and out, contains several operations:
The company's administrative offices.
A distribution center to get the stamps from Kanab into the hands of the demonstrators. Orders can be filled in as little as three hours.
A call center with about 45 agents and eight service account managers. Stampin' Up fields 1,400 to 1,600 calls and 300 to 400 e-mails a day from demonstrators.
A Legacy Room highlighting the company's history. Open to the public, it includes photographs, a copy of the company's first catalog, an area showing how stamps are made and a section devoted to philanthropic efforts.
A display area, also open, showing how stamps can be used for home decor.
"I think people think stamping is just for scrapbooking or cardmaking, and that is how we began, but it has evolved into a lot of things," Gardner said.
"You could put wallpaper up, but why? This way, you can match the colors you want for your decorating purposes. . . . People's creativity has to be explored, and why not in the home and not just on paper?"
But the facility boasts other attributes. The distribution portion sports an airy feel, with 80 skylights, large windows at the north and south ends and an all-white paint job. Inside the sandstone and brick exterior are offices and hallways featuring lots of hardwood, large windows and a four-story atrium complete with a two-story red-rock fountain and foliage — a calm area for employees to enjoy their lunch break.
"My goal was always to be in our own home — not renting, not leasing," said Gardner, who was raised in Kanab. The company had sought a location north of Point of the Mountain and south of Salt Lake City International Airport. Riverton was picked because "I wanted it a little rural," she said. "It reminds me of our roots."
Those roots have branched out and will continue to do so. The Kanab operations soon will have a new 80,000-square-foot building to complement the currently leased facility; the company has formed an international division; eventually another office building will be added to the other side of the atrium; and the distribution center has plenty of room to accommodate growth.
"We can at least double our capacity in that warehouse," Gardner said.
E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com