The Leader • Saturday, June 6, 2020 • Page 1B
Creative promo celebrates parent teachers By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
Oak Forest resident Emily Ferrell, a mother of four, knows what it was like to be home with kids during the spring. The COVID-19 pandemic caused schools to close in mid-March, forcing parents to become athome teachers for the rest of the school year. So she and husband Chase recently launched a unique way to honor these “Teachers of the Year” with a yard sign campaign. “We lovingly refer to our branch of (Oak Forest Elementary) distance learning as Feral Academy,” Emily Ferrell said. “We only have four students (aged) 0 to 9 years old.” Ferrell also is a social worker in child welfare at DePelchin Children’s Center, where she works with foster and adoptive families and children. And with husband Chase, she also own a real estate company, Green Bear Properties. “He’s a broker and I try to help him and his partner with marketing sometimes,” she said. “We had an idea during our many, many hours together that combined a fundraising idea for my clients and a way to
Contributed photo Yard signs like the one displayed above have been sold by Oak Forest couple Chase and Emily Ferrell to honor at-home parent teachers.
get his name out there to prospective buyers and sellers.” With sponsor Take Us Higher Learning, they created and sold “Teacher of the Year” yard
signs with 100 percent of the proceeds donated to DePelchin families for school supplies, distance learning needs and educational toys.
“We still have about 30 left to sell and the window of opportunity is closing this week as school officially ends,” Ferrell said. “I gave one of these
COVID-19 a boon for some businesses By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
While no one would have chosen a pandemic as a business booster, the fact remains that some businesses have experienced a surge in sales during the past two-and-a-half months. Shops that sell and repair bicycles, yard sign companies and virtual learning platforms are all working to keep up with the demand for their services and products. Ella Lee Forest resident Mark Griffith learned how busy bike shops are when his son’s bike had a mishap with a bent derailleur that left it unusable. “Getting a bike fixed during the pandemic proved to be pretty challenging,” he said. Griffith began by placing a call to iCycle, at T.C. Jester Boulevard and Ella Boulevard, and learned it would be a twoweek wait. Then he drove to West End Bicycles where the bike was purchased. That store was happy to sell him parts but also was backlogged about two weeks for repair service. Next was Planetary Cycles, which gave Griffith a threeweek wait time. That shop suggested one of its competitors, Cyclone Cycles, where the owner and sole employee offered Griffith some good advice on how to do some selfrepair. “Frustrated, I bought the parts, watched many YouTube videos, and fixed it myself,” Griffith said. “It took several hours on a job that would have taken a pro just one, but now my son has a repaired bicycle, and I have a new, very useful skill in my belt.” Daniel Sanchez, a manager at iCycle, said it is now at about a one-month wait for repair jobs that normally would take two or three days.
Contributed Photo Zoe Pisio received a yard sign for her 10th birthday.
He said sales are way up, too. Normally, the business does about $10,000 a week in sales, but now it is selling about triple that – each day. That is despite reduced hours and limiting in-store customers. “All the gyms and everything (were closed),” Sanchez said. “The only thing you could do is go jogging and if you didn’t want to do that, you went riding.” Shepherd Park resident and Yard Party Signs owner Jenny Pisio has been putting up celebratory yard letter signs all over Houston since starting the business last July. Pisio said her normal volume is two to three signs each night, but now she is doing as many as 10 signs in one night – marking birthdays, anniversaries and graduations. Sign Gypsies Northwest Houston, another company that serves the area, is owned by Alesha and Jason Virgadamo. They’ve been in business for three years and in the last few months have seen a 500 percent increase in sales. “Our normal volume is easily handled by two people, but due to the pandemic we have hired a number of helpers,” Alesha Virgadamo said. “We are one of the few ways that people can celebrate. Drive-by
parties and parades have become very popular.” Pisio said she had to work to ramp up, too. “The community has been so great that we were able to purchase new inventory to meet everyone’s needs,” she said. “I’m excited to create special memories during these difficult times.” As an offshoot of online learning, online lessons – just for fun – are something that parents are looking at this summer. Outschool began offering classes in 2015 and is based in San Francisco. To date there are more than 1,200 independent teachers offering more than 15,000 live, online classes for kids ages 3-18. According to spokesperson Kristen Marion, Outschool is offering $50 in free classes for families affected by the pandemic, which are available at Outschool.org. Typical classes average $10 per class hour. Class rates are set by the independent teacher and begin at $5 per class. Each class price is listed at www.outschool.com. “Outschool has seen an 11 (times) increase in enrollments since March,” Marion said. “Outschool’s team and community of teachers have more expertise in this type of learning than any other U.S.-based
BUSINESS BRIEFS:
First tenants secured for Block 14 at Garden Oaks By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
Gulf Coast Commercial Group, a Houston-based firm specializing in retail development, management and leasing, has begun construction on a shopping center at 3201 N. Shepherd Dr. in Garden Oaks. Gulf Coast acquired the 1.74-acre site just north of Loop 610 from Garden Oaks Baptist Church in 2019 and is constructing a nearly 18,000-square-foot, one-story building. The company said tenant delivery is anticipated by July. Coined Block 14 at Garden Oaks, the project incorporates up to seven retail spaces, ranging from just over 1,000 to more than 3,000 square feet, for which Gulf Coast and leasing partner Capital Retail Properties are targeting a variety of tenant businesses. Both endcap spaces have been newly leased, including
Contributed Photo Jeremy Goodwin has a registered trademark for Single Man’s Kitchen and will soon become an Amazon vendor.
3,100 square feet to southern sandwich chain McAlister’s Deli and 2,700 square feet to Houston-based salad shop Salata. Cisneros Design Studio Architects designed the project. It is responsible for efforts spanning from Upper Kirby’s Kirby Towers buildings and Midtown’s Webster Lofts to Southern Goods – now Squa-
ble – in the Heights. A news release from Gulf Coast said the concept “offers a fresh take on design cues from the neighborhood’s mid-century beginnings.” Founded in 1999, Gulf Coast and its affiliates have overseen the development of more than 8 million square feet of retail space in 12 states. While traditionally focused on suburban-style endeavors in Houston, the company is enhancing its portfolio with urban infill projects that in addition to Block 14 at Garden Oaks include Lower Heights, a 24-acre mixed-use district under construction at the axis of downtown, the Heights and Arts District Houston on the south side of Interstate 10 between Sawyer and Studemont streets. “After many years of quiet growth in the suburbs, we’re See Business Briefs, P. 3B
organization, having had 80,000 students attend more than 300,000 class hours.” Because many camps can’t operate in person, Outschool is offering a full range of online summer camps for kids. “Outschool is committed to offering kids the nurturing experience of summer camps from home,” Marion said. “And small businesses with experience serving kids during the summer are using Outschool as a solution to keep camps running in a new way.”
major awards to myself, of course, along with an acceptance speech. We have had the best time surprising people, delivering signs with the kids, and
bringing smiles to exhausted parents in the Houston area.” One of the recipients was Oak Forest resident Jenni Ferrell, who is not related to Emily. A friend had bought a sign for her. “I was out in my front yard garden and someone drove by and said, ‘Congratulations!’” Jenni said. “I assumed they were talking about the garden (and) then I saw the sign. I read it and only saw ‘Teacher of the Year.’ My first thought was, ‘Oh no! They messed up and put someone’s award in the wrong yard!’ “I read the sign more closely and saw that it said, ‘The kids did it all!’ And I just started smiling and laughing. It was perfect. The truth is that our kids did do it all. The sign was such a cool surprise. I called the kids out to see it and they had big smiles and laughs as well. It added some joy to a super weird end of semester.” To order “Teacher of the Year” signs, email emilycferrell1@gmail.com or call 281851-0514. Signs are $25 each with a discount for five or more ordered. The sign can be personalized with a note on the back.
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