The Verve Bar: Fun Gifts, Sweary Stickers and Doggy Goodies

CHILDHOOD

I was born in the California Bay Area, the youngest of three and the only girl. (Fun fact, my husband is one of three boys and our 3 kids are all boys.) We moved to Davis, CA when I was 4. Upon moving I met my friend Katie. This is relevant because you will see her in the background helping me and “meet” her on future social media posts (don’t tell her because I’ll have to hide the camera to get her on). We show each other no mercy. Our content will likely provide excellent entertainment and zero educational value.

COLLEGE & EARLY ADULTING

I moved from Davis to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Marymount. My timing was excellent, I was there for the basketball glory days. My girlfriends from college are lifers, despite living far apart, we see each other every year.

After graduation, a friend and I did a 16,000-mile car trip around the US. There is no better recipe to extinguish the love of camping than a small cheap tent, no money, tornado sirens, and thunderstorms. No one told us about the bizarre weather common in the central U.S. each summer. We had amazing moments but not exactly the glamorous road trips portrayed on today's Instagram. Our Insta page would have provided endless comedy and motivated our followers to get a solid job so they could afford 5-Star hotels!

I lived in Manhattan Beach while working for a Japanese bicycle component manufacturer and trading company. I was the main salesperson for aftermarket components and the assistant for OEM sales. I visited every major bike distributor and manufacturer in North America that existed in the early 90’s. Some of my standout memories include a distributor in Minnesota teaching me how to play broom-ball on his backyard ice rink, and a customer in Chicago taking me to a Bulls game to see Michael Jordan in his prime. That job was amazing but something was nagging at me. One morning, while biking to work, I knew what it was. I had been jealous of my peers who opted for “normal grad trips” by backpacking around Europe. I was 24 and quickly reaching an age when I would be too old for hostels. I put my bike away, ran inside, and whispered to a co-worker, “What would you think if I gave my two weeks’ notice, cashed in my frequent flyer miles, and booked a one-way ticket to Europe.” He curled his lip, thoughtfully nodded his head up and down, and said “Yep, I can see you doing that.” I gave my notice the next day and less than 20 days later was meandering through Europe with a backpack, clutching an orange travel book called “Let’s Go Europe" (this was, pre-cell phones & and pre-GPS). That orange book was the modern equivalent of exchanging your Instagram with a stranger, only to discover you had mutual friends. Every student traveler had this book.  If you saw someone with a backpack holding the orange book there was a 99% chance they were A) not a serial killer and B) likely a fun seatmate on the next train. The unexpected experiences and new acquaintances made by traveling solo, made this trip the most epic experience of my life.

After Europe, I moved to Portland, Oregon. I didn’t know anyone or have a job. I chose Portland because of its beauty, the hipness of the city, mountain biking opportunities, and I knew my brothers and parents would pass through regularly. My parents had a vacation house on the Oregon coast and it was easy to swing through Portland on the way. I quickly landed a non-glamorous, well-paying job, this time I sold pallet jack parts (material handling industry). Like my previous job, I traveled more than I was home throughout the U.S. and Canada. I bought my first house in North Portland when I was 26. I would like to publicly apologize to all of my neighbors for the parties, especially the house next door with young kids. Fear not friends, karma got me, I ended up with three wild boys, all of whom were bad sleepers.

HUSBAND, BOYS, & FLOWERS

My brother’s wife introduced me to one of their friends, Tim. We got married in 1997. Tim is in the tire business and we had many of the same customers. We bonded while comparing stories of drinking cold sludge coffee in greasy warehouses and how much we loved our quirky customers. Shortly after we got married, I quit my job to pursue a creative career. I attended floral design school and naively started a business thinking, “We’ll start a family and I’ll be so happy working from home with the kids.” BA HA HA HA. My two older sons were born shortly after and the mayhem commenced. They used premium long-stemmed roses for sword fights, stacked my flower buckets to create skate ramps, and popped into client meetings blurting out, “How can you tell if a cut needs stitches?” After eight years, the arrival of a third boy, a child with a lenghy IEP, and endless sports games I was missing on the weekends, I felt my energy was best served at home. To leave the door open, in case I ever wanted to return to the flower world, I published a coffee table book of my work. It’s circa 2005 but the designs were ahead of their time, the book is still very relevant. Conveniently (wink), it’s available in my store.

THE VERVE BAR 

Our sons are now 24, 22, and 17 so. I was ready for a new adventure. With the encouragement of a friend who owns gift stores and is also a wholesale rep, I decided to start a sticker business focusing on dog, cocktail, and lighthearted swear word humor (oh, and tons of pickleball stickers)! I felt qualified to make this work as I recently became a pickleballer, I swear like a trucker, I’m a home mixologist, my friends think I’m funny, and I have 2.5 dogs. I grew up with a golden retriever and bunnies. We had an amazing rescue Weimaraner who passed in 2017. Our current pack consists of Apollo, my oldest son’s pit mix (I don’t pay his bills so he’s the “.5” and Oscar and Snoop, our Australian labradoodles.

Anyhow, I was starting a sticker business and began creating designs galore. But then, fueled by coffee and ADHD, I got totally derailed. I suddenly had 100 sticker designs PLUS had molds being made overseas (for funny dog tags and enamel keychains), my house was piling up with new dog toys, jewelry, pins, and luggage tags. Buckle up, my world is crazy, fast-paced, often intense, but always fun. 

Welcome to The Verve Bar. If you want “the best seat in the bar,” follow our journey on Instagram. I’ll have informative info, memes, and repeating segments such as “Drinking with Deme” (say “dee mee”), the only friend brave enough to be on camera with me. Each week, we will do a bit of day-drinking while reviewing a different product. You might not learn anything but Deme and I will thoroughly enjoy filming it. 🤣

WORKING FOR A 5-STAR REVIEW LIKE A PRO

I’m so appreciative of you being here. I am as guilty as the next person of shopping on Amazon but I truly make an effort to support small businesses when I love the products and people. I hope you’ll give me that chance too! Your product reviews will make or break my business. I’m not joking when I say I want to EARN the five stars. If you ever have a problem with an order or product, I’m your person! Text me and we’ll figure it out! Even if it’s something minor, I want to know when a product is less than awesome! If I didn’t think my customers would love it, I wouldn’t sell it so please tell me! 

Sit back, relax, and pour yourself a drink. We’re gonna have fun (I use slang …  if you are OCD I suggest the Calm app meditations while reading my content)! 

Cheers friend! You are an OG at the bar and I couldn’t be happier to serve you. I'm thinking about hanging a mug with your name above the bar. Please share my Instagram with a bestie that has our same sense of humor!

Anne