Editor’s note: This is one in a weekly series of profiles on locally owned and operated businesses in Southern Oregon.

What do you do and how long have you been doing it? (Susan speaking) We have valentines day jewelry, unique gifts, home and garden decor in our garden out back, and home decor inside. We have fresh flower bunches, silk flowers and French body and bath as well as baby gifts. We’ve been doing this for nine years.

How long have you lived in the Rogue Valley? Both of us were born here. My mom went to Crater High School, I went to Crater and my son and daughter (Jennifer) all went to Crater. So we’ve been here three generations.

What inspired you to go into this line of work? My grandfather always had stores. He had one in Prospect and later in Woodland Heights off Columbus Avenue in Medford. I remember helping him with the store when I was little. I’d stand on the stool and help the customers; that’s how I learned to make change. It just gets in your blood.

What decision or action would you change if you could do it again? When we started, we were out in Phoenix at the Shoppes at Exit 24, it was still an outlet market and booming. It was thriving at first and then it went downhill. The timing for being there wasn’t good. We then moved out to Jacksonville to be closer to home. That was just when the economy turned bad.

What’s the toughest business decision you’ve made? It’s whether to keep hanging in there. We’re not doing this to make any money right now. We have so many loyal customers that just come in and tell us this is there favorite spot and don’t close. We depend a lot on local people, that’s why we try hard to cater to local people with birthday and necklaces gifts. We try to find the best prices on unique and different things. We carry different things by both local artists and around the world. We even work with a village in Nepal, where ladies make hand-made winter caps. We try to work with fair trade and help anywhere we can.

Who are your competitors? We used to go to market, buy items and come home and sell it at a fair price. But the big box stores like T.J. Maxx and Ross and even Real Deals buy at huge quantities and then discount it. What we’ve been trying to do is have a boutique look without boutique prices. There are always other gift stores. One hope is that people would discover the stores on the side streets; there’s more to Jacksonville than just California Street.

What are your goals? We moved into this location last July, and before that we were on Fifth Street. We want to see the economy come back to where people can come in — not to over-indulge, but to find nice gifts for their friends and families. There is only so much disposable income, we don’t provide necessities, we supply retail therapy. We want to be comfortable financially like we were five years ago. We see Jacksonville becoming a wonderful destination long-term. Basically, we’re trying to find our niche in the community.

What training or education did you need? My daughter has a background in visual merchandising; she was a manager at Pier 1 Imports. I previously was a hairdresser for years and had a flower and gift shop in the early 1980s. I had the Basket Place in Poplar Square for about four years. I learned that retail is hard and it changes and you have to roll with the trends. We’ve learned that here — that you have to keep it fresh.

What’s your advice for budding entrepreneurs? It’s not something to take lightly and it’s not a big money-silver bangles. It’s harder than it looks. We’re here seven days a week, no paid holidays — it’s just hard. People have to absolutely go into it with their eyes open. They need to have a five-year plan.