Although I’d been making cards for my family for years it wasn’t until I was introduced to Stampin’ Up in 2002 that my passion for paper really took hold. My addiction to tools and techniques was all encompassing and I just couldn’t learn enough, buy enough or create enough to satiate my soul.

At the time I was a Sales Rep for a kitchen company, and I was traveling all over BC, but sitting alone in my Hotel room just wasn’t for me, so I’d go check out the local Scrapbook store.  I was blown away by all the cool products that were in these small stores outside of Vancouver and would come home and tell my friends about it.  (Well, not just Tell but Show them, actually… I told you I couldn’t BUY enough!)

Eventually, people kept telling me I should open my own shop and showcase all the neat techniques I was learning, but I thought “only Crazy people open Retail stores!” and just continued teaching classes in my Dining Room.

Then Ella was born.  And I didn’t want to travel one week out of every month.  And opening a Scrapbook store didn’t seem all that Crazy, somehow.

But I didn’t want to lose the “feel” of those Dining Room classes, so Andrew and I decided that our shop wouldn’t look like everybody else’s.  We’d style the store to be reminiscent of a home, play some jazzy music, and invite people to chat over a tea or coffee.

Cherish the Thought was created in 2008, and she has all the qualities I hoped for.  A cozy space filled with beautiful projects that allows you to wander through, taking your time, and ultimately enjoy the ”collecting” as much as the creating.

Cherish became a place for me to share my enthusiasm for this craft with all of you.   After 5 years however, I realized that my passion for the industry, and my penchant for teaching was really where I should focus my energy, so in December 2012, we made the decision to close Cherish the Thought.  I now teach around the lower mainland and hope to continue to share my love of papercrafts with all of you.

See you soon…

Jessie Hurley