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Meet Teresa Garibay of Flat Rate Staging

local-business-spotlight Aug 09, 2022

Meet Teresa Garibay of Flat Rate Staging

Teresa was born in Mexico and grew up in Yakima County. She moved to western Washington after graduating with a degree in criminal justice in 2005. By 2014, she had moved into flipping homes and remodeling. She realized she loved the design aspect of flipping homes.

She decided to get her real estate and general contractor's license.

She is most passionate about design. She thinks the greater the mess, the greater the transformation. After years of doing it all, buying the home, renovating, staging, and selling, she decided to focus on the aspect she loves the most: staging and design.

Teresa loves to put her design brain to work and create a really unique and beautiful space for everyone who walks through it. Whether clients are ready to sell their home or not, they can still work with her to revamp their interiors and optimize thor homes for their life.

Over the past two years, many...

Meet Sydney Chase of Sydney Brooke Art

local-business-spotlight Aug 09, 2022

Meet Sydney Chase, owner of Sydney Brooke Art and lover of the Pacific Northwest.

While she is originally from Kentucky and has lived in many states, Sydney and her husband had always wanted to live in the Pacific Northwest. They were drawn to the natural beauty and temperate climate and finally decided to make the move to Puget Sound five years ago.

Sydney has been creative her entire life. She started channeling her creativity into art and painting when her parents reached out to a local artist in their town for private instruction when she was 11 years old. She started exploring oil painting in those lessons and got hooked. In the beginning, she was worried about messing up or missing the mark. Her teacher taught her to trust the process and “just throw paint on a canvas” and see where she ended up. Years later, she still carries with her one of her first creative lessons, “It’s art; you can’t mess up.”

...

Meet Jerry Hallman of Goosehead Insurance

local-business-spotlight Aug 09, 2022

Meet Jerry Hallman, a Goosehead Insurance agent serving Tacoma and the South Sound.

Jerry was born and raised in the South Sound and has always had a soft spot for Tacoma. After 16 years of active duty service in the U.S. Army, he ended up at JBLM and decided he wanted to stay! So Jerry joined The Army Reserves and started his civilian life here in the North End.

Jerry’s life has been full of transitions, from being stationed all around the country, to touring in Iraq and transitioning out of active duty service, to his most recent transition from Farmers to Goosehead Insurance.

Jerry understands that insurance agents can get a bad rap. High premiums, fees, price increases after a speeding ticket, etc. That’s why Jerry is on a mission to change the stigma around insurance agents. He has a people-first approach, and he takes the time to find the perfect policy for your family. He believes that by helping local families get the best...

Meet Keith Beasinger of Edward Jones Point Ruston

local-business-spotlight Jul 25, 2022

This month we sat down with Keith Beasinger, a financial advisor with Edward Jones based out of Point Ruston.

More than anything, Keith considers himself a family man. He is a father of 3 and knows from experience how each family has their own unique financial situation and goals.

That's what he loves about Edward Jones, they remain a family-owned business, and they don’t follow a one size fits all approach to financial planning.

He’s worked with other firms in his 18 years as a financial advisor but said “Edward Jones, is by far the best place to be a financial adviser, and the best place to be a client. And I know that people can say that, and I understand that. But Edward Jones is very careful and conservative in their approach and they're going to be very careful for their clients too.”

Keith understands and values every person that he sits down with, and knows that whether they are starting from zero, or...

Meet Laureen and Coco of Wren’s Nest Baking Co.

local-business-spotlight Jul 25, 2022

Tacoma is about to get a little more gluten-free friendly, and a lot more delicious! The Wren & Willow team is opening their Carriage House in Ruston, featuring an exclusively gluten-free bakery, a mercantile shop, and a community area with comfortable seating, fireplaces, and an ambience unlike anywhere else in the South Sound.

Originally, Laureen and the Wren & Willow Team just wanted to expand their office space. The business was growing, and so was their team! Wren & Willow already owned the land, they obviously had the skill set to take on construction, and decided that they wanted to create a mixed-use space that the community could enjoy! The Carriage House concept felt like the perfect mix of community and business. When the doors finally open at The Carriage House (at the corner of Pearl and 51st) two new businesses will open as well. A home goods store, Willow Branch Mercantile, and Wren’s Nest Baking Co.

Laureen had...

Meet Joe and Leah of Fircrest Jewelers!

local-business-spotlight Jul 25, 2022

Joe and Leah are the proud owners of Fircrest Jewelers, a unique small business unlike the big jewelry stores we are all used to seeing, and here’s why!

Fircrest Jewelers opened its doors in 2016, but Joe and Leah have been working with jewelry for far longer than the past 5 years. Joe says that he has always liked to work with his hands. “I wasn't able to get into the career choice I had chosen when I came out of high school and with the limited amount of college that I had. I enjoyed art and woodworking and found an opportunity to go polish for somebody.” He said, “My mom used to work in a jewelry store when I was a little kid, and it reminded me of when I worked in a shoe shop in North Proctor District when I was 16 years old. It just seemed to fit; a kind of comfort zone. And here I am, 40 years later!”

In 1986, Joe worked as a polisher for a local jeweler doing repairs before working under Master Jewelers where he feels he really...

Meet Adrian and Eric with Lake Washington Windows & Doors

local-business-spotlight Jul 25, 2022

Meet Adrian and Eric!

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Adrian and Eric from Lake Washington Windows & Doors and learned how these two worked their way through every aspect of this business, launched their own companies, and then ultimately came to work together for the greater good of the Pacific Northwest!

Adrian was raised in Edgewood near Puyallup and graduated from Puyallup High School. After high school, he moved up north to the Snoqualmie area, which he says has a very similar, small-town feel as to what he was used to in Edgewood, which is very comfortable and familiar with. He then studied Business Accounting at the University of Washington, spending his summers working in the Glass and Service Department at Milgard Windows & Doors. “This is how I was introduced to the industry,” Adrian says. “I was offered a full-time job at Milgard thinking it would simply be ‘just a job’ for six months until I figure out my...

Meet Jeff Graham of Fairway Independent Mortgage!

local-business-spotlight Apr 05, 2022

Meet Jeff Graham of Fairway Independent Mortgage. He is a proud member of our local Tacoma + 253 community and we were thrilled to catch up with him about all things reverse mortgages. In this interview, we break down what a reverse mortgage is, how they work, and if it might be right for you!

We sat down with Jeff to learn more about Reverse Mortgages, here's what we learned:

“I believe that God wired me to help people. I figured out at a young age that money touches all facets of our lives to a degree, and if I can help people make smart decisions about their money, then it’s very rewarding for me, very fulfilling for me, and I enjoy it. That’s what really gets me up in the morning and keeps me going when things get tough.”

Jeff begins our conversation with this. Jeff Graham has been in financial services for the better part of his adult career. He’s had his hand...

Meet Nadine Kohler of Seabury School

local-business-spotlight Apr 01, 2022

Nadine Kohler is the Director of Institutional Advancement at Seabury School. Seabury is the only independent school in the South Puget Sound area with programs designed for intellectually advanced children in pre-k - 8th grade. Nadine sat down with us to chat about what it means to have a gifted child, how they approach education at Seabury School, and how to determine if it's time to seek a new approach to learning with your kiddo. We are huge fans of the mission at Seabury School and we are thrilled that they have planted their roots and flourished in the South Sound.

Learn more about Seabury School

We all want our children to have the best possible opportunities to learn and succeed in life.

Finding a school that fits each child's unique needs plays a crucial part in that long-term success and happiness.

Traditional schools do their very best to accommodate the educational needs of each child, but oftentimes end up offering a “one size fits...

Meet Jenn Luna with Paper Luxe

local-business-spotlight talking-shop-show Apr 01, 2022

In this episode of the Tacoma + 253 Business Spotlight, we had the pleasure of chatting in the studio with Jenn Luna of Paper Luxe!

Jenn Luna owns Paper Luxe, Curious Bear Toys, The Crest Home, and Little Luxe Baby Shop.

She is a proud member of our local Tacoma + 253 community and we were thrilled to catch up with her about all things business and life. She told us all about her journey since opening her business in 2012, her ability to pivot and grow during the pandemic, and her unique path to finding her passion.

Click here to visit her website and learn more.

Follow Paper Luxe on Instagram

Mike Skiff: All right. Well, hey, welcome Jen to the program. Glad to have you here.

Jenn Luna: Thanks so much for having me.

Mike Skiff: Yes. And we'll take a quick minute before we dive in and introduce you. It's Jennifer Luna, and you were the owner of multiple establishments. So just why don't you tell us first who you are and what you do?

Jenn Luna: Sure. So my name is Jen. I go by...

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