Alumni remain local: Part 1 – USD graduates create businesses

For nearly 45 years, University of South Dakota alumna Phyllis Packard has incorporated her passion for fiber weaving into her career in some shape or form. Whether through teaching her craft to curious minds, spinning, dying, and selling South Dakota wool to other talented weavers or showcasing her work to the world by means of her studio gallery, Packard has built a sustaining occupation that has resulted in a way of life.

Packard is among a number of USD alumni who have opted to stay local and own and operate small businesses in downtown Vermillion. The history behind the proprietors of these businesses is unique in their own ways, but their reasons for settling in a small town like Vermillion are comparatively similar.

Currently operating an art gallery and photography studio called LumoStudios & Gallery, Packard said owning a small business is almost second nature to her.

“I’ve been doing private business for years, and expanding it to what it is today sort of just came naturally with the work I do,” Packard said. “Owning a business has been an adventure.”

Originally from Boston, Packard and her husband moved to Vermillion in 1968 to teach at the university. After USD cut the art-weaving program, Packard moved from job to job, teaching at other campuses and selling her weaving products. The idea of operating a studio did not come about until her son, Aaron Packard, took up photography and began delving into the business of professional portrait photography.

“We started out as a portrait studio in the garage at my house,” Packard said. “The photo business has taken a number of transitions since then as we do very little in portrait photography anymore. It is very much commercial advertising and it’s what we do the most of around here.”

According to Packard, she and her son opened the doors of LumoStudios & Gallery in 2004, where it remains open today. The gallery has since then become an array of original artworks, photographs and a high-end yarn supplier.

“We promote a lot out of town as well as in town,” Packard said. “People associated with the university, such as parents and other people attending campus related events, are major customers. We cater more to outside of Vermillion as much if not more than Vermillion residents.”

Packard said the primary reason for this is because very few stores in the area sell the type of products she does.

“We are more of a regional store because we are one of few stores in the area that carry specialty yarns,” Packard said.

As Packard described, Vermillion has a lot to offer, which is why owning a small business can be desirable.

“Vermillion is a wonderful place to settle down in because it’s a good family-oriented and culturally-oriented town,” Packard said. “Very few communities have been able to maintain what we have here in Vermillion. What this magic is I can’t say for certain. We all struggle to maintain I believe, but we make it work.”

Another alumna of USD who owns Willson Florist, along with her husband Aaron, in downtown Vermillion, Emily Sedbeck, concurred that not being singleminded can lead to newfound chances, and that they should not be overlooked.

“Be open to opportunities when they come knocking,” Sedbeck said. “Think of it as an opportunity and just because you decided when you were 18 years old that this is what you want to do, it may change later and it’s ok to not do what you first intended.”

Sedbeck said her career path that led her to owning a flower shop was never clear, but it somehow ended up making sense, so she stuck with it.

“I started out helping a little bit, and then a little bit turned into part-time, and seven years later here I am,” Sedbeck said. “I never saw myself doing this.”

Attaining an art degree from USD, Sedbeck described her degree as something very useful in her industry, even if it may not appear to be that helpful upon first glance.

“I have an art degree and so I use that all the time in arraignments and things like that,” Sedbeck said. “ I think my art degree really does help a lot.”

Just as many downtown shops and restaurants compete for business, Sedbeck said having to contend against the floral center in Hy-Vee grocery can be challenging, but it is a challenge she enjoys and that she strives for a better quality of products.

“We like to think that maybe we know better about taking care of flowers and things like that,” Sedbeck said. “I came from someone who had owned the business for 54 years, so I think I’ve learned a lot and I’m always looking into things for education and things about business.”

Packard says one of the biggest challenges many small businesses in Vermillion face is getting USD students involved in downtown life.

“It’s been a challenge to let students to know there are more than just bars on Main Street,” Packard said. “Many students get to be sophomores or juniors and have never even been downtown.”

Sophomore Amber Eweres is one these sophomores who rarely go downtown, but not because she chooses not to go.

“I don’t go downtown because I don’t have the time,” Eweres said.

Like Eweres, first-year Nicole Lund also does not traverse to downtown Vermillion very often.

“There is a lot to do, actually, for such a small town,” said Lund. “But it’s too far to walk there.”

Packard described the lack of student participation as unfortunate in a very humbling and sarcastic manor.

“My first thought about that (low student traffic numbers) was ‘Good Lord, students, be a little more adventurous! Find out where you are. There’s definitely more than just a campus here,’” Packard said.

Jessi Wilharm, another USD alumni who co-owns the Chinese and Korean restaurant Chae’s with her USD alumni husband Ted, agreed that one of the main goals of business owners of downtown Vermillion is getting students from USD to be active members of the community.

“We try to have a lot of specials for students to keep them engaged,” Wilharm said. “We want to bring a little variety to downtown and let them (students) know we are trying to be here for them.”

Wilharm reminisced her college career days and said that going downtown was sometimes a difficulty.

“I know when I first started going to school here I didn’t know downtown existed for the first couple months of school,” Wilharm said. “But they (students) have a chance to really be involved with everything.”

Graduating from USD in 2002, Wilharm and her husband originally started their married life in Denver, CO working as a graphic designer and a teacher at a local community college. After realizing city life was not a good fit for them, Wilharm said her and Ted decided to move to Vermillion and start a family there.

“We love Vermillion,” Wilharm said. “We fell in love with the town when we were going to school here and we liked that it was full of fresh ideas, young minds and that there was always something new with University.”

Working at Chae’s during her undergraduate studies, Wilharm said she and her husband came into acquisition of the restaurant when her old boss mentioned retiring and offered to sell the company to them.  Since the purchase, Wilharm said they have been working to bring originality and variety to both their restaurant and downtown.

“We have the fortune opportunity of being in a college town,” Wilharm said. “It’s college students who want to go out and have fun and they’re willing to try new things so you can have variety.”

Like Packard, Wilharm said that one of the biggest struggles they face is constantly trying to bring in new and old customers, especially students from campus.

“It’s always a battle trying to win them (students) over instead travelling up to Sioux Falls or down to Sioux City for places to eat or things to do,” Wilharm said.

Wilharm said one aspect that sets Vermillion a part from towns like Sioux Falls and Sioux City is the relationship the town and university have.

“I think (the relationship between Vermillion and USD) is pretty special,” Wilharm said.  “It’s not limited to a certain part of town like you might find in big cities. The whole town is involved with USD and so many alumni own businesses here and care about the well being of the university that makes it very special.”

Senior Trevor Watson, said he will usually go downtown once or twice a week to either eat or have a drink with friends.

“There are surprisingly a lot of options downtown for such a small town,” Watson said.

First-year Taylor Hagen agreed and added downtown Vermillion has a unique vibe to it.

“There are a lot of cool restaurants,” Hagen said.

While Wilharm admitted owning a small business in Vermillion was not her first plan for a career, but said that it has had a positive impact on her life and it was a good decision.

“Be open to strange and new opportunities,” Wilharm said. “Everything that’s happened in my life has not turned out like I planned, but it’s been spectacular. Stay open and positive. Things have a way of working out if you’re ambitious enough.”

For Sedbeck, one of the greatest qualities about operating a business in Vermillion is the people and the atmosphere they create to live in.

“Vermillion has a really good spirit, especially because of the college,” Sedbeck said. “The people are very kind to small businesses, especially with Sioux Falls and Sioux City not very far from here.”

Currently undergoing interior renovations, the owner of Wilson Florist said longtime customers have commented how pleased they are with her successful business, and she looks forward to what the future has to bring.

“The shop is going under renovations to make it a little more contemporary,” Sedbeck said. “We want to grow and we have some ideas and we want to change with the times.”

Sedbeck said adapting to the customers wants and needs is important, and advised any college student who is considering opening a business to remember to always move with the world.

“You have to think about things a little bit different, and that’s ok because the world is changing and you have to change with it,” Sedbeck said.