Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra Van Fleet.
Sandra, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We moved here from Florida twelve years ago, looking for better opportunities for our family. Paul graduated from Klein Oak and knew this area would be better for us, as teachers. We were hired by Klein ISD, and we continued to work as teachers.
One day, my husband took us to Old Town Spring and I just fell in love with the town. We always wanted to own a business, so we knew that one day we would open our shop in Old Town Spring. Even though it was our dream, we knew that we could not begin that dream immediately. We continued to teach, and then one day we noticed there were some shops for sale in Old Town Spring. When we went to see them, we fell in love with the three shops. We purchased them and came up with our business plan.
We are both Science teachers, now currently with Conroe ISD, and we wanted to make a shop that would help bring our engagement from our classroom to the masses. We wanted to offer tutoring, notary services and learning opportunities along with making supplies more affordable. So we partnered with our fellow teachers and offer free referral services that help match teachers with available tutoring jobs. We decided to give teachers year round discounts and even offer a reward program for all our customers as a thank you. For retiring teachers, we buy their gently used supplies so that we can make supplies more affordable for all. We have live animals, because classroom pets make learning come alive. Incorporating animals in the classroom reaches a wide variety curriculum areas, not just Science. Whether you are a teacher, a homeschooling parent or just enjoy learning toys this store has it all.
We have sensory tables for sifting fossils and you can even take home mining bags so you can experience the excitement of learning at home. We have pearl parties and open oysters while discussing the process of how the oyster makes the pearl inside. Each of our oysters is guaranteed to have at least one pearl, they may even have two pearls. We also carry incentive items like treasure box toys, anime, Pokémon and fidget spinners. This store is so much more than teacher supplies, you have to experience it to really understand the concept. Full immersion in our store will always bring about learning and that is why we are here.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My father and brother both served in the Army. They both passed away a few years ago, so this pushed us to move forward with our dream. We wanted to honor their memories, so we became a drop off location for Cell Phones for Soldiers.
After purchasing the buildings, the contractor we hired to renovate ended up walking away with our money. We worked so hard to get where we are, so we were not going to let this derail us. We decided to push through and took on extra jobs to pay for the renovations. Working seven days a week to pay all the bills, it started to pay off. There have been bumps in the road since, but nothing we cannot overcome. We have a strong belief that the Lord has a plan for our lives and there is nothing we cannot accomplish with Him by our side. He has blessed us with fabulous customers and now a new larger shop so we can continue to grow.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Teacher Creature Store – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We pride ourselves in being an affordable family owned educational supply and pet store, but we are so much more. We offer tutoring (K-12 Math, Science, ELA and Social Studies), notary services (even on Sunday), pearl parties, specialized ordering and more. We do sell teaching supplies, but we also carry supplies for students along with project supplies. Our design was to be a learning environment year round for all, but we do extra catering to our fellow teachers. We wanted all learners to experience the excitement we have each and every day we walk into our classrooms, so we continue to change and grow to meet those expectations.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We moved our location from 26515 Preston Avenue to 123 Main Street, right around the corner. We needed a larger shop, and it worked out in our favor that we could continue to expand while still being located in Old Town Spring. With our new space came more animals like axolotls and geckos along with more room for classroom decorations. We look forward to continuing to go and expanding our services.
Pricing:
- We range from $0.15-$125. Most of our items are $1.50
Contact Info:
- Address: Paul and Sandra Van Fleet
- Website: www.theteachercreaturestore.com
- Phone: 832-674-3284
- Email: theteachercreaturestore@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theteachercreaturestore/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theteachercreaturestore
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/creaturestore
- Other: http://theteachercreaturestore.mybigcommerce.com/
Image Credit:
Sandra Van Fleet, Angie Wright, Al Thomas
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