September 14, 2007 -- Yard Card Surprise, LLC (
Website), Lorain County’s one-stop-shop for all occasion lawn greetings announced the arrival of the Skel-A-Mingo. The Skel-A- Mingo, manufactured and sold by Pink Inc. of Lake Forest, IL, is the first change in the plastic flamingo technology in the last 50 years. The Skel-A-Mingo has a black plastic body and is painted with a skeletal design.
His cousin, the traditional pink plastic flamingo was created in 1957 by Don Featherstone in Leominster, MA, manufactured, and distributed by Union Products, Inc., which closed its doors in November 2006.
Marlene Osborne, Owner of Yard Card Surprise, LLC states that the Skel-A-Mingo is a very welcomed addition to her inventory and should be very popular alone in a “flock”, as an addition to her already favored “Over The Hill” displays for milestone birthdays, and arrives just in time for Halloween, with its associated festivities.
Yard Card Surprise, LLC offers Storks for baby showers/birth announcements and a wide variety of 3D plastic characters or “critters” as they are referred to in the industry. These include bats, cows, crows, dinosaurs, donkeys, ice cream cones, penguins, pigs, pink elephants, pink flamingos, roosters, rubber ducks, sheep, swans and 2D collections of beer mugs, cutesy cows, flowers and bugs, frogs, hearts, biker hogs, smiley faces, and sports balls.
Osborne is currently working on adding 2D displays of cupcakes, a clown for children’s birthdays, which will include circus animals, skunks, trophies, a mouse on a wedge of cheese, and a barrel of monkeys.
Osborne, 39, a Lorain County native, was previously employed as an IT Security Administrator in the local data center of a national retailer. That retailer merged with another national retailer and her job was eliminated as a part of that merger. Osborne was offered the opportunity to relocate to the Atlanta, GA area, but declined due to not wanting to leave family and friends. She was given a severance package for her 17 years of service. Osborne decided that she wanted to give entrepreneurship a try as she has always wanted to start her own business and several years ago had a very small business making and selling “Yard Art” via eBay. In researching possible business opportunities, Osborne came across the “Lawn Greetings” Industry and thought it would go hand-in-hand with her talents in wood crafting and painting.
This past January, armed with a portion of her severance in hand, Osborne was able to realize her dream of owning her own company. Osborne was able to purchase the business assets of her local competitor, Creative Cutouts, whose name has been around the area for approximately 20 years and has already laid the groundwork in educating the public in “Lawn Greetings”.
Osborne then found and became a member of the International Lawn Greetings Association. A Trade Association for “Lawn Greetings” Business Owners across the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and the UK whose purpose is to network and share ideas with others interested in this growing industry. The ILGA has 600+ active members, is growing on a daily basis as more Lawn Greetings companies pop up around the country, and is based in Fremont, OH with President Michelle Reed at the helm.
On any given early morning between midnight and 6am, under the cover of darkness, you can usually find Osborne in her van or in a local yard sneaking around and setting up displays to make someone’s special occasion even more memorable. It could be a Birthday, Birth, Anniversary, Graduation, Retirement, Marriage Proposal, Good Luck, Thank You, an Apology, or Welcoming One of Our Fine Soldiers Home. Osborne does it all.
“Putting smiles on people’s faces is our business”, Osborne states. “It is a very heart warming feeling to get a phone call, email, or note stating how much the recipient loved their display and how it made their day, it’s just great to be able to make a living at making people happy.”
Yard Card Surprise, LLC delivers free to anywhere in Lorain County and delivers to adjacent counties for a delivery charge based upon mileage. Osborne has recently traveled as far West as Port Clinton and as far East as Lyndhurst on her nightly “flockings”.
Prices for displays range from $65 - $85 and include 25-30 “critters” and a larger theme sign or standard message board with a personalized message for the recipient. Birth Announcement Storks come with a personalized bundle that includes the Baby’s Name, Date of Birth, Weight, and Length. Osborne adds, “Many people don’t realize it, but this is a year round business, although during the winter months when the ground is frozen solid, we limit our displays to 3D “critters” that sit on top of the ground rather than being staked.”
When asked how business was, Osborne stated “Booming and continuing to grow. Since opening in June 2006, Yard Card Surprise, LLC has helped 305 area residents with celebrating their special occasions. Everyone has a birthday and many other special days to commemorate. With the recent announcements of more jobs coming to Lorain County, thus improving our local economy, and the already estimated population of 1.9 million in Lorain and its adjacent counties, Lorain County is a great place to live, raise a family, and work.”
For more information, visit Yard Card Surprise, LLC on the web at http://www.yardcardsurprise.com and remember – “Don’t Send A Card – Say It In Their Yard!”
