BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
1055 S. HWY 395, STE 111
HERMISTON, OR
541.567.6151
Jade McDowell/Hermiston Herald
Tesia Hunsucker, owner of Tesses Creative Messes in Umatilla,
stands with her son, Aurelias Garcia, 1, in her shop on
Wednesday, June 23, 2021.
New craft store
opens in Umatilla
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Tesia Hunsucker is hop-
ing more people will shop
locally for art supplies now
that she has opened a craft
store in Umatilla.
The Irrigon woman
opened Tesses Creative
Messes at 1300 Sixth St.,
Suite D, in Umatilla on June
8 after she got frustrated at
the lack of options for buy-
ing paint, canvases and other
supplies.
If Walmart doesn’t have
what she needs in stock, she
said, she usually has to go to
the Tri-Cities to pick it up.
So Hunsucker decided
to open her own store with
craft and art supplies. Her
selection is pretty small so
far, but she hopes to expand
it, and to get customers
to put items on her “cus-
tomer wish list” to give her
a better idea of what’s in
demand.
“I’m trying to up my
inventory, but it’s kind of
diffi cult if people aren’t tell-
ing me what they want,” she
said.
The store sells canvas,
paint, yarn, fabric scraps and
other supplies, in addition to
paintings by Hunsucker. In
the back of the store, behind
the counter, is a space with
tables that Hunsucker said
people can pay $6 an hour to
reserve for activities related
to painting, sewing, scrap-
booking or other crafts.
She said she hopes to host
some craft nights there her-
self, and is looking for peo-
ple who are interested in get-
ting paid to host classes in
the space.
She had her son, Aure-
lias Garcia, who turns 2 next
month, in the store with her,
and said Tesses Creative
Messes is a “kid friendly”
place where families are
welcome.
For more information,
visit the store’s website at
tessescreativemesses.com.
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Fireworks industry
facing shortages
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Shipping problems are
causing a fi reworks short-
age at local stands, accord-
ing to suppliers.
Lesley Phillips, who
runs the Black Cat fi re-
works stand near Grocery
Outlet in Hermiston, said
much of the inventory she
ordered is on a ship at the
Port of Tacoma thanks to
a shortage of longshore-
men and truck drivers. As a
result, she said Friday, June
25, she thinks she may be
sold out before the Fourth
of July.
“I advertised we would
be here until the Fourth, and
then two days later I found
out I’m only getting half my
shipment,” she said.
The problem seems to
be a national one — Phan-
tom Fireworks, one of the
nation’s largest retail fi re-
works companies, put out a
statement urging consum-
ers to buy early this year.
“Like
many
other
industries, the fi reworks
industry has also experi-
enced delays due to ship-
ment challenges facing the
global market,” said Alan
L. Zoldan, Phantom exec-
utive vice president. “The
good news is that we pre-
pared early in anticipation
of high demand again this
year, and are encouraging
Phantom customers to do
the same.”
Phillips said she has
heard from other people
who sell fi reworks in the
area that they are also hav-
ing problems.
“We’re all kind of in
the same boat (no pun
intended) because it all
comes from China,” she
said.
Cami Satterwhite, who
runs two fi reworks stands
in Pendleton, said her ship-
ment of fi reworks this year
was about $10,000 short.
That’s about half her typi-
cal supply.
She expects they will
lose about $2,000 worth of
profi t this year due to the
shortage. And they will be
sold out well before July 4.
“If people want them,
they better come get them,”
she said.
Satterwhite said her
brother, who owns a fi re-
works booth in The Dalles,
and a friend who owns a
stand in Baker City, each
told her they only received
about half their usual sup-
ply this year.
Hermiston-area
resi-
dents can support veter-
ans by purchasing their
fi reworks from the stand
hosted by Hermiston’s
American Legion Post 37
outside of Walmart.
Post Chaplain Aaron
Wetterling, a Vietnam vet-
eran, said in a news release
that veterans will be staff -
ing the stand and all pro-
ceeds from the sales will go
to support veterans.
“We are Vets help-
ing Vets,” he said. “That’s
what the American Legion
is all about.”
Wetterling said all vol-
unteers selling fi reworks
at the American Legion
took two “intense” training
classes on fi reworks and
had to pass a test, so they
know what they’re talking
about if shoppers have
questions. They can direct
people toward something
that won’t produce loud
noises that might scare
pets, if that’s what they’re
looking for, for example.
“Your average depart-
ment-store clerk doesn’t
know a ‘Revolution’ from a
‘Pop-it,’” Wetterling said.
“We do.”
Like other fi reworks
stands, Cathy Stolz of the
American Legion said their
stand received fewer fi re-
works to sell than in pre-
vious years, particularly
when it comes to the big
packages, as fi reworks
remain stranded in ships off
the West Coast.
The fi reworks stand
is guarded each night by
armed American Legion
members, she said, and
during the day features a
large swamp cooler and
several fans to help keep
the temperature down.
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