The title Cajun Design stands out in Northwest Montana, and regardless of altering possession and placement over the previous few months, the enterprise has retained its Louisiana roots and dedication to the native clients it has served over the past decade.
Former proprietor Olivia Krause is used to the fixed hum of the embroidery machines that fill the air in a newly rented constructing in Kalispell. After 12 years of working Cajun, an embroidery and display screen printing enterprise initially based mostly out of Columbia Falls, it’s the silence that feels unusual.
Krause bought the enterprise in November of 2023, a yr after the demise of her husband, Travis Krause, to Brandon Beard and Cory Shaver. Beard and his spouse, Becca, moved to the Flathead Valley in 2020 from Louisiana planning to retire, however have as a substitute discovered themselves managing a number of companies.
Beard and Shaver, who lives in Texas, personal and run a number of companies within the valley, together with Glacier Ziplines, Blacktail Mountain Adventures, and The Brandgineers, a advertising and marketing firm.
Buying Cajun was an apparent addition to the household, permitting the entrepreneurial group to provide merchandise for his or her different companies in addition to increase their advertising and marketing companies. They envision Cajun changing into a part of a “one-stop store” for branding and advertising and marketing within the Flathead Valley and past.
Alexandra Sheneman, Cajun’s new CEO, is happy by the chance to proceed Cajun’s legacy whereas increasing its companies.
“We’re attempting to guarantee that as we develop we nonetheless hold the custom of how Cajun began and nonetheless service the folks that saved it afloat as a result of it’s a neighborhood city. Sure, we wish to do large stuff exterior of Kalispell however we’re nonetheless Kalispell-based and we wish to make sure that we keep true to that,” she mentioned.
Sheneman added that Cajun is most recognized for its embroidery companies, which is a meticulous course of requiring a particular ability set and a spotlight to element. Because of this, most embroidery companies require minimal order sizes. Cajun doesn’t have minimums, regardless of the disruptions single orders could cause to the circulation of operations.
The brand new Kalispell location permits room to develop, and Cajun hopes to triple its embroidery capability, permitting it to increase present partnerships with native companies and start providing companies in different states. As they accomplish that, although, the enterprise plans to proceed working with people who’ve smaller wants, like a blanket for a volleyball senior or stockings for Christmas.
Former proprietor Krause and her husband, a Whitefish highschool graduate, purchased Cajun Design, beforehand often called Embroidery Plus, shortly after they moved again to the Flathead Valley. The couple met in Louisiana, the place Olivia Krause is from.
After her husband handed away, Krause felt a pull to return to high school and turn out to be a nurse. Between her new schedule and the ache of attempting to run Cajun with out Travis, she realized that it was time to promote the enterprise.
“One among my greatest fears with promoting is that my clients wouldn’t be taken care of. I’ve quite a lot of loyalty in the direction of these people and that was our dwelling for a very long time,” Krause mentioned.
It felt like divine intervention that the Beards had been additionally from Louisiana. As a part of the sale, Krause will proceed to be concerned along with her beloved enterprise at the same time as she pursues her nursing diploma.
Cajun moved from Columbia Falls to Kalispell in December of 2023. Transferring the heavy and complicated tools was a logistical nightmare, involving calling a tow truck after the embroidery machine wouldn’t match within the transferring van, they usually confronted different challenges from the change of location.
“The most important wrestle we’ve had with transferring is that individuals aren’t conscious we’ve moved,” Sheneman mentioned.
Regardless of quite a few posts on Fb and an indication on the door of the previous Columbia Falls location, Krause nonetheless will get messages questioning why her truck isn’t within the driveway of the previous store.
Krause and Sheneman need these clients to know that Cajun continues to be open and dedicated to offering the very best high quality services. The brand new house owners share Krause’s studying by doing angle and a spotlight to element, and they’re keen to point out that dedication to clients new and previous.
“That’s how Cajun’s all the time been,” Krause remembered. “We keep late and we get it finished. Travis and I had nights the place we might be there till midnight or one o’clock or all night time lengthy. It was positively a household factor. If we would have liked to remain all night time we bought out the tenting bunks and the youngsters would sleep and we might end our display screen print.”
The brand new house owners have large plans for Cajun Design, together with renting out more room within the constructing, tripling the embroidery capability, and increasing to clientele across the nation.
Cajun Design is positioned at 235 United Drive in Kalispell and will be reached at (406) 892-3935 or by e-mail at [email protected] or go to https://cajundesignmt.com/.
A consumer’s emblem is stitched onto the entrance of a hat with an industrial embroidery machine at Cajun Design in Kalispell on Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Casey Kreider/Day by day Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
From left, Olivia Krause, Becca Beard and Alexandra Sheneman at Cajun Designs in Kalispell on Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Casey Kreider/Day by day Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
A screen-printed emblem for the Forest Service at Cajun Design in Kalispell on Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Casey Kreider/Day by day Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
A emblem is stitched onto a jacket utilizing an industrial embroidery machine at Cajun Designs in Kalispell on Tuesday, Jan. 30. (Casey Kreider/Day by day Inter Lake)Casey Kreider