Occasions of Jasper; Party store opens in Downtown Jasper

Taylor Swift had a lot to do with the recent opening of Occasions of Jasper, LLC.

Margie Vaught and her husband Marty — who annually delights visitors to the Chalkwalk with his pop-inspired chalk drawings — opened the new store providing unique event and party supplies on October 31.

It was the next step in entrepreneurial success for Margie who has been operating a custom invitation business called Just For You Designs from her home office for about six years.

Most customers just referred to her as the invitation lady.

But back to the Taylor Swift inspiration.

Margie walks with a friend early each morning and one morning after walking, she decided to drive around the square.

She and Marty had been talking about the next step in their careers as he had lost his longtime job with Kimball International soon after it split. He was having trouble finding a new job, so the couple was considering investing into the expansion of Margie’s current business.

The couple had eyed the empty building that formerly held Southern Sweets Bakery but were concerned about making the entrepreneurial jump. During the Strassenfest, seeing all the activities downtown firsthand while they worked the band booth confirmed the Square was where they wanted to be.

Margie had prayed about the move and as she drove around the square, she asked again for some sign to move forward with the downtown business idea. “I came around the corner and I asked God to give me something to let me know this was the right thing to do because it is scary,” she said.

The radio had been background noise as Margie drove but at that moment, the deejay mentioned a tweet that T-Swift had sent to a teenage fan stating that sometimes you have to take chances in life. “I got chills. I went home, woke Marty up and told him we have to do this,” she laughed.

With Jagged Edge Salon, E.J. and Dots — a new children’s boutique, and The Bridal Boutique, the southwest corner of the Square seems dedicated to those major events in someone’s life that would require some beautiful and unique invitations and party supplies.

The former bakery has been transformed into an attractive, open store designed to emphasize the welcome atmosphere in direct contrast to the normal party stores. “I usually describe it as a boutique version Party City,” she explained.

There are several brands of disposable plates, cups and utensils as well as serving trays featuring popular designs on display. She also proudly carries the environmentally friendly Susty Party brand of plates, bowls and cups. The company appeared on Shark Tank and soon after passing on an offer from the “mean” Shark, Kevin O’Leary, the owners were able to find investors in their strong but quick-composting partyware.

Margie has moved her home design studio into a studio at the shop. Along with the high-quality serveware, napkins and utensils, her invitation work is on display.

The invitation business began after Margie designed a special World War II inspired birthday for Marty’s 40th birthday. Marty is a military historian, so Margie designed an invitation around a newspaper that appeared to be from that era. She featured stories on the invitation using an image of Marty dressed in a historically accurate uniform to complete the package. “That got the bug started,” she said.

It expanded to the couple’s daughter, Carly. “We kinda started throwing birthday parties that were more about us than about her,” she said about the elaborately themed events. “And it kinda grew from there.”

When she officially started her invitation business, she swore she would never do weddings. Now it is about 97 percent of what she does. But those weddings commonly lead to what she thoroughly loves, baby showers and birthdays. “I call it my full circle moment when they come back,” she said. “It is a really neat thing to be able to go full circle.”

The products featured in Occasions of Jasper, LLC range from inexpensive to the more costly and she is realistic about the fact that some items can be found in other stores. But she does carry plenty that is unique to her business and she provides a complete package for customers seeking a more personalized touch.

“Paper plates are no different than china,” she said. “Mix and match it all. You can end up with a beautiful look and not have to worry about the cleanup afterwards.”

Occasions of Jasper, LLC is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. The store telephone number is 812-848-2050 and can be reached by email at occasionsofjasper@gmail.com. Here is the shop’s Facebook Page.