By Mary Sisk
Rock River Current
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LOVES PARK — A husband and wife team has brought their full-service print and vinyl craft store to a new location that will offer better visibility for potential customers.
Mike and Julie Borowicz cut the ribbon Wednesday at their new Loves Park store located at 5545 N. Second St.
The grand opening was attended by Mayor Greg Jury, board members from The Parks Chamber of Commerce and Belvidere Area Chamber of Commerce, local elected officials, and more. Also in attendance were Young at Heart Queen Emily Zammuto, Miss Sweethearts of America Megan Clarida, and previous Young at Heart Queen Madison Hawn.
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The couple began ROTD Crafter’s Corner, formerly Rite On Time Design, as a full-service print shop.
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They began to expand into crafting materials when a friend raved about products she purchased from them on Facebook and their demand grew exponentially.
Their first location opened in 2017 in Belvidere and gained numerous loyal customers.
“What sets them apart from other places is their customer service,” said Gretchen Beaman, an ROTD customer of nearly two years. “When I have a problem at home, I can call and Mike will walk me through every single problem I have.”
Their storefront moved to 280 N. Phelps Ave. in Rockford from Belvidere and found the location to be hard for customers to find, spurring the move to the former Tussing’s Tile in Loves Park.
The store will now be passed by nearly 20,000 cars daily, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation daily traffic estimates.
The building is owned by Markus Smith, a Parks Chamber of Commerce board member whose State Farm insurance business shares a parking lot with ROTD. He said the former Tussing’s had been vacant for nearly four years. It was important to Smith that the business moving in was local and would be beneficial to the community.
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The goal at ROTD Crafter’s Corner is the same as its always been, “Helping everyone create shirts, signs, banners and all that stuff,” Mike Borowicz said.
Know before you go
Where: 5545 N. Second St. in Loves Park
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
More info: Additional information can be found online at crafterscorner.store or by phone at 815-323-5092.
This article is by Mary Sisk. Email her at msisk@rockrivercurrent.com or follow her on Instagram at @maryrrcurrent