Blog Post No 2 - Why 554 and Company?

I’ve lived nearly ALL of my life on the same street in the same small town. 

When I was younger, I could not wait to get out of this town.  I was convinced I’d leave and never look back.  Yet somewhere along the way, it turned into the place that I come from, instead of a town to get away from.  And I guess that is because of my family and its connection to my street.

Pewaukee Beach

I grew up on a dead-end road that wasn’t in a subdivision, and it had railroad tracks on the other side of the street.  As a child, it was great.  We could play kickball and baseball in the street with little traffic and rarely a parked car in our way.  If you were really good, you might hit a baseball across the tracks, which was considered a home run.  I was never very athletic, but my best childhood friend caused us to lose a few balls in the dense brush along the train tracks.

Me in my corrective saddle shoes on Kopmeier Drive (Summer 1972)

The best thing about my street was that my Grandparents lived just two houses down the street from mine.  I could usually always be found at that home away from home on the weekends for sleepovers – and Grandma always bought the fun cereals like Apple Jacks! Grandpa could always be counted on to fix whatever I broke while my Dad was off at work, which was often a saving grace for me.

My Grandma passed away shortly after I got married (Grandpa preceded her) and we found ourselves in a unique position as a newly married couple.  Since my siblings were all much older than I and were settled into their own homes, my parents offered my husband and I the chance to buy my Grandparent’s home.  As newlyweds, I couldn’t imagine being able to afford a home, especially since I was still in school, but my parents helped us figure out how to make it work.

Years later, we’ve remodeled it twice and love our home on our quiet street. 

I do my best creating here.  Studio, basement or garage, I tend to create everywhere.  And when I grew my business from cards and jewelry into something bigger, I realized that I needed a new name for my new business.  Since I hoped to expand enough to include businesses that I truly believed in and loved working with, we came up with 554 and Company.  “554” represents my grounding place, my street and my history here in this small town.  “Company” represents the people I create with and for, and the other businesses that I choose to represent in my retail stores and on my website.

554 and Company was born in 2017.  I started in one small retail space which closed due to Covid.  I moved into a larger retail space shortly after the world woke up and then expanded again.  I now have two medium sized retail spaces in different cities and continue to expand my website.  My website includes everything from art supplies to home decor to products that I just can’t live without. I usually tell people that I’m busy “building my empire.” That’s not exactly true.

I’m just busy doing my best to be happy.

Thanks for joining me on the ride.