A store of many features

Houlton Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
LOTS OF OPTIONS — Richard Sloat of Jean’s Serendipity and Fish ‘N Friends store on the corner of Main and Broadway Streets displays an embroidery machine. There are many items that can be embroidered from hats to shirts, jackets to vests, bibs, blankets to duffle bags.
Jean’s Serendipity has something for all
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    Taking a tour up and down the aisles, each shelf houses merchandise as if a miniature store was in each section of their building. Very unique products and services can be found downtown at Jean’s Serendipity and Fish ‘N Friends, owned by Jean and Richard Sloat, located at the corner of Main and Broadway streets in Houlton.
    Coming through the doors at the front of the store one can clearly see the store is aptly named, with its shelves just waiting for the right gift to catch your eye.
    Walking down the far left aisle, beer and winemaking kits and supplies are among new items.
    “Richard started this at home as a hobby,” said Jean. “There was no place to get the ingredients. So, we started stocking it in the store. It is a fun hobby to do in the wintertime. It has taken off quite well. A lot more people [do this] than I would have ever thought.”
    The next product line is outdoor wear by Bernie apparel. This line has the quality of higher-end brand names, without the high price. The outdoor wear is more popular during the colder months and especially around Christmastime.
    “A lot of people buy these items and embroider names or logos on them,” said Jean.
    Jean’s Serendipity also stocks a full line of English and Western tack and apparel, including saddles and boots. A couple of items competitors do not carry are saddles and riding boots.
    The next stop on the tour is the pet area in the back of the store. The Sloats have small animals, birds, fish and reptiles, with fish being the best seller.
    “We order a shipment of fish every two weeks,” Jean said. “We sell a lot of fish and accessories. We even educate those who buy accessories other places and get their fish here.”
    Richard motions to the middle of the store where more Western wear and gear is carried. The Sloats also stock dog supplies from beds to food and don’t forget Jean’s Serendipity can engrave pet tags, names and phone numbers so if a pet gets lost it can be returned home.
Houlton Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
NEW MACHINE — Jean’s Serendipity and Fish’N Friends store now has a heat-press machine to apply express letters and numbers, along with custom logos that can be ordered. Jean Sloat works on placing letters on a T-shirt for a customer.
    “The back end of the store is mostly pet supplies,” Richard added.
    “We do [sell] quite a bit of high-end quality dog food,” Jean added for dogs with special needs.
    Coming toward the front of store from the back, Jean notes that the rest of the store is “gifty, fun stuff and collectibles.”
    She stops and explains that the Ceda Mesa pottery is of high quality and “the line of pottery does very well for me,” she said, “because it has horses and moose on it.”
    Other items in the store include cards, mugs with a town name, cards and calendars.
    Richard then reminds Jean to talk about their toy aisle.
    “It’s quality wooden and educational toys,” she said.
    The Sloats carry numerous safari animals, enough to build your own zoo.
    “We sell a lot when the kids have school projects,” Jean laughed. “They all want something and they are all doing a different category, so it works out well.”
    The Sloats also carry games, wood-burning to Smithsonian kits and more.
    On one wall is the Breyer horse collection.
    “It possibly could be one of the largest horse lines in the state of Maine,” Richard added.
    Even with all of that merchandise, the Sloats are still busy with two more services — embroidery and a new heat press.
    Richard usually runs the embroidery machine and had just finished hats for Oxbow Lodge. But, there are many items that can be embroidered from hats to shirts, jackets to vests, bibs, blankets or duffle bags.
    Last February, the Sloats introduced another new service. They invested in a heat press.
    “A lot of people asked us about it,” said Jean.
    Many businesses wanted to utilize the heat press instead of having embroidery done.
Houlton Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
NICE TOUCH — A hot-mug press can personalize any ceramic mug with photographs or logos.
    “Doing something large on an embroidery machine is costly,” Jean said. “A back of a shirt to be embroidered may cost between $30 to $40, but the hot press can do a whole shirt for around $6, depending on colors because the more color, the more cost.”
    For example, uniforms for ball teams would be costly to embroider, but the heat press would be the way to go for that.
    Jean was working on a T-shirt putting a last name on the back for a parent who wants to support her child.
    “We have express letters and numbers in stock that can be applied at any time, also custom logos can be ordered,” said Jean.
    The item to be applied can be printed either by the sublimation ink machine or the chromo blast machine and transferred to the heat press.
    Jean explained the heat press can be used for multiple services besides fabric. The Sloats have done T-shirts, Koozies and mouse pads for local businesses and non-profit organizations.
     “We can put the sublimation ink on items such as cutting boards, Christmas ornaments, memory boxes to ceramic tile. The possibilities are endless,” Jean said.
    There is also a hot mug press that can put personal photos or any picture onto a ceramic mug.
    The Sloats have even ordered Halloween transfers that can be placed on T-shirts, as well. Even if someone is unsure what to do, idea books are available to look through.
    Jean’s Serendipity opened in 1994 and has adapted to meet the changing economy through the years.
    “With the way the economy is, I guess we’ve been doing pretty well,” said Richard. “We keep trying to get new things coming in – try to guess what is next.”
    The store is open Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the store stays open on Sunday from 12-3 p.m.
    “We have so many departments here that when one section is [slower] another is busy,” said Jean. “We keep rotating around the store at certain times of year in different sections. If we don’t have what someone is looking for, we have catalogs to order from.”