A little more than two years ago, Jennifer Rust’s friend Kristin was painting in Rust’s child’s room and a light bulb came on.

About 25% of sales are original creations painted on site by artists like Natalie.

Rust, a CPA by trade, was looking to start a business outside of the accounting field and thus, Whims-n-Doodles was born. Rust describes the shop as a “full-service design studio packed with exclusive whimsical artwork, furniture and accessories that capture a bit of childhood magic.”

Initially the idea was to have a Web-based business selling product Kristin designed and she and other artists painted. Rust rented a small space in an out-of-the-way area in a strip mall where artists could paint. And paint they did —everything from furniture and wall decor to accessories and more. As the word spread throughout

New Hartford, N.Y., people started showing up at the studio to shop, although it wasn’t set up as a store.

The Whims-n-Doodles team. Front row L to R: Jennifer and Kristin; second row: Heather, Holly and Deana; back row: Natalie.

Rust moved the artists to the back of the studio and opened the front of the space as a retail store. That first year, the product assortment was mostly room decor, but as the business has grown it also has evolved.

Today, Whims-n-Doodles operates in a 4,000 square foot space in a highly-trafficked strip mall; furniture and apparel have been added to the mix; and in less than two years the average annual sales are just under $500,000.

Top sellers are Whim-n-Doodles designs, apparel and furniture.

“It’s also close to our homes and schools so it’s very convenient,” Rust said.

The location also offers the opportunity to do some cooperative advertising and events during the holidays and summer.

“For the shopping center-wide events we do face painting in the store and we’ll have a line 50 kids deep; people look forward to it,” Rust said. “Last summer we put chalk in the pockets of one of our Doodle Darlings and asked the kids to doodle on our sidewalk. We also gave them a 'party favor’ of a pretty packaged piece of chalk.”

Grandmas are the major furniture buyers and 95% of the furniture sales are for infants.

The store is 95% infant and 5% youth as far as furniture sales go, but for accessories and room decor it’s about 50/50. The top-selling categories are Whims-n-Doodles products, 25%; apparel (from newborn to 6X in girls and to 4 in boys), 24%; and furniture, 23%.

Rust describes the price points as medium to high-end, though the Whims-n-Doodles branded Door Doodles — a huge seller —run about $19.99. She says customers shop the store because it’s different.

“They come in because we’re different but once they get here they come back because they love the environment,” she said. “Everything is gift wrapped — we hand paint our bags. When we have a baby registry and there are 15 packages going to that shower we make sure each one is just a little different. Plus, I travel all over the country to find unique products. And, we’re the only store I know of with its own art studio.”

The store is heavily merchandised and Rust says you can tell when a customer has come in for the first time because of the expression on their face. There’s Rockabye Baby music playing in the background, colorful, highly-accessorized vignettes, and product arranged in easy-to-shop categories.

“We’re constantly merchandising to keep the store fresh,” she said. “Customer service and personal service are key. We also offer delivery service, which we outsource. Our motto is 'We celebrate the magic of childhood by creating positive, happy and healthy environments for children of all ages’.”

The majority of Rust’s customers are grandmothers and she says even if they are not the “driver of the purchase, they are the purchaser.”

“New Hartford is a real extended-family area,” she said. “Families have been in the area for generations. We find that most of our furniture is bought by the grandparents.”

Rust describes the market area as “family-oriented and traditional,” and she says in the last 10 years the retail landscape has grown with more chains and big box stores moving in.

“The store draws from a wider geographical area,” Rust said. “We pull from the Albany and Syracuse markets as well.”

Technology is an important part of the business for Rust. When she started the store she had the foresight to invest $20,000 in a POS system. Aside from keeping track of everything in the store, the system also is used to control manufacturing as well as communicating with customers.

“I am an accountant and I like to know the details,” Rust said. “We use the system to control inventory and so many other things. It’s a lot to swallow when you’re just starting a business, but it was one of the best decisions we’ve made.”

Though Whims-n-Doodles has been around, in some form, for two years, Rust still spent about 10% of her budget on advertising and marketing to build name recognition this year. She’s found television works best for her right now because the store is incredibly visual, making translating it into print a bit difficult.

“Print ads don’t let us tell people what we do,” Rust said. “TV has really worked for us; however, now that we are gaining more name recognition we’re moving a little more in to print and doing a lot of email marketing. We have an extensive email database.”

This summer, after filming one of their TV spots, Rust and her team had the camera crew stay over and shoot some extra footage, which they then turned into a video and posted on YouTube. The YouTube spot, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0FYT-j9vsY, is choreographed as a day in the life of the store. It not only takes viewers on a tour of the store, it also conveys the feeling of teamwork; something Rust says is of paramount importance.

“Our team approach is evident in everything we do,” she said. “The integral role each member plays is clear in the cohesive atmosphere of our store and studio. We pride ourselves on our outstanding customer service and attention to detail that assures an original, positive shopping experience. Everyone works well together and everyone is happy to be here,” Rust said. “We have weekly staff meetings and training for the artists is ongoing.”

Kristin’s designs are one of the things that set Whims-n-Doodles apart from other stores and each artist is trained in her style of loose, bright, fun and whimsical painting. Kristin comes up with the designs and color ways and then the product is crafted by Harold, an 87-year-old woodworker, who cuts the designs. The next step is to replicate the designs Kristin conjures.

“We paint a lot of custom orders,” Rust said. “But we’re also a manufacturing force; multiple pieces of the same thing are being painted at once. There are specific blue prints for each product.”

The biggest daily challenge Rust said, is one shared by everyone in the store — balancing work and families.

“Kristin, Deana and I have eight kids between us,” she said. “The kids go to the same school and we each have a child in sixth grade. We’re a team; we take turns shuttling kids. My personal challenge is that I love what I’m doing so much it’s hard to step away from it.”

Rust says her best business idea came from asking Kristin the question about getting her products out on the market, which led to opening the store.

“We followed it where it took us,” Rust said. “Even though I’m an accountant, I have to say, business plans are a little over-rated at times. Our plan changed and we followed it. I’m very fortunate that I have a phenomenal support system in every way and I’ve been able to take risks that other people may not be able to.”

Rust’s passion and excitement for the business is contagious and her desire to share the credit with Kristin and her team for the success couldn’t be more genuine. She has great plans for Whims-n-Doodles.

Her goal for the coming year is to get the store to the point where it almost “takes care of itself,” allowing Rust to focus on other business venues. She currently has a licensing agreement for her Door Doodles and is getting ready to launch a Whims-n-Doodles clothing line. She’s also looking at the wholesale side of the business and, in the next decade, Rust is looking to franchise Whims-n-Doodles.

And, when it comes to advice for other retailers?

“All three of us, Kristin, Deana and I, said 'think outside the box,’” Rust said. “You have to be thinking all the time; and listening. Always listen to what people have to tell you — your industry, your vendors, your customers — but don’t take it as gospel. Do your homework; do your research; try something different. With the Internet making everything so accessible you have to be different. If we can make it in upstate New York, you can make it anywhere.”