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When Robin Raker Sinclair was eight years old, she hauled a card
table, an ice bucket, and a pitcher of Kool-Aid to the curbside
and opened a lemonade stand. Like many children, she charged 25
cents a cup. But, unlike most children, Robin actually made
money doing this.
“Three hundred homes were being built
in our neighborhood,” explained Robin, “so I sold lemonade to
the construction workers and made five to ten dollars a day.”
Then her dad gave her another idea. He suggested that after
5 o’clock, Robin go to the construction sites to collect the
empty coke bottles. After all, they were worth ten cents each.
This worked great— adding another $4 a day to her income—until
the neighbor kids caught on. Then, they started picking up the
bottles.
Robin didn’t cry or complain. Instead, she
developed customer loyalty.
“I went to the construction
sites,” said Robin proudly, “and shook hands with the workers
and introduced myself. I explained to them what I was trying to
do. They started hiding the bottles. Then, at the end of the
day, they would stop by my lemonade stand and tell me where I
could find them.”
This lasted until Robin was 12 and the
300th home was completed. Then, from ages 12-18, Robin did
babysitting. Robin was always careful to save her money, but she
also loved to give personalized thank you gifts to her parents.
“I never gave them just one item,” Robin said cheerily. “I
would give them a cross-stitched pillow that I designed myself
along with some candy and some trinkets that they liked. I tied
it all up with colorful ribbons.”
So it’s no surprise
that when it came time to go to college, Robin attended
UNC-Charlotte and majored in business management, marketing and
advertising. After completing an internship at Hickory Farms and
UPS, Robin had all the tools necessary to create and deliver
personalized gift baskets so that other people could say “thank
you” in their own special way. Thus was born Baskets & Beyond in
1997.
At the same time, another entrepreneur—Elaine Talley was
busy living her dream. As a talented singer and dancer, Elaine
loved the limelight and the audiences loved her. She
crisscrossed the US performing until she met the love of her
life—Billy Summers. He proposed, she accepted, and then
something completely unexpected happened.
“It was like I
bloomed,” said Elaine Talley Summers in amazement. “Suddenly I
was interested in homemaking.”
Most of all, Elaine found
herself interested in baking bread. And, just like she formerly
embellished popular songs to please the crowds, Elaine nurtured
her recipes until she had Slices of Heaven popping right out of
her oven.
Then, in November 2002, Robin and Elaine
met—quite by accident—at the Holiday Market at the Greensboro
Coliseum Complex. Elaine, a first time exhibitor, brought 600
loaves of her prize-winning bread and quickly sold out. Robin, a
seasoned exhibitor, brought plenty of prize-winning baskets and
replenished her supply when she sold out.
Thankfully, a
friend gave Robin a loaf of Elaine’s bread, while it was yet to
be had.
“Normally,” confessed Robin, “I’m not a big bread
eater. But when I tasted this, it was amazing. I kept eating it
all weekend long.”
Two weeks later, Robin called the
telephone number on the Slices of Heaven label. She wanted
Slices of Heaven to be a regular feature in her gourmet goodies
at Baskets & Beyond. After sorting out the details, Elaine
realized that she would be happiest being back in the limelight
directly selling her bread at festivals and exhibitions, while
leaving the business details to Robin. So, Robin and her husband
purchased what is now named Elaine’s Slices of Heaven and Elaine
heads the sales team.
This creates a perfect opportunity
for Kernersville and the Triad community to find the most
delicious personalized thank-you gifts for their clients and
families. One such gift-giver is Amy Ketterman, relationship
specialist, at Got You Floored in Greensboro.

“We send our customers gift baskets from Baskets & Beyond
because our customers love it and it’s cost effective,” Amy
shared.
Each basket includes a loaf of Chocolate Peanut
Butter Fantasy Bread—Amy’s favorite—and a thank-you note that
reads: We enjoyed flooring you!
Best of all, a gift
basket is something clients remember for a long time, as they
keep going back for the goodies until the whole basket is empty.
Pet sitter Rena Walker, owner of 4 Paws Nanny, also looks
for meaningful ways to thank her clients. While she sends a
variety of gifts, Rena noted, “Elaine’s Slices of Heaven is
absolutely the tastiest gift I’ve ever given.”
Rena’s
favorite flavors—hence the ones her clients receive—are cinnamon
walnut (the #1 selling bread) and chocolate raspmatazz. Rena’s
clients are so thrilled that Rena now has Baskets & Beyond as a
line in her monthly budget.
Chris Collins, owner of Nails
by Chris, in Kernersville, sends Baskets & Beyond to California,
where her parents retired.
“My parents have everything
they need,” Chris commented, “so I send them the “taste of
home.” It is just like the South has come in the mail and is
delivered to their door step. It’s not just the bread. Robin
adds in all kinds of gourmet treats, candles, and bath salts.
She knows what they like.”
Apparently, a lot of people like these baskets. According to
Robin, most of her new sales come from people who’ve just
devoured a delicious thank you package. In fact, in December,
happy customers bought 10,000 loaves of bread and 3,000 gift
baskets from Baskets & Beyond.
Interestingly, 60% of the
gifts were purchased at the website www. basketsandbeyond.com.
For local orders, Baskets & Beyond delivers right to the
doorstep. This is especially appreciated for early morning
meetings when the boss says “thank you for being here” by
serving a fresh bread and fruit tray.
And of course,
there is also the option of going right into the curbside store.
Robin set up her business in the prettiest neighborhood in
Kernersville— in the wonderfully restored Historic Downtown on
Main Street between Dance Unlimited and Richard Hedgecock
Framing Studio.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Robin said with
a smile, “than being right here in Kernersville helping people
build a custom gift basket for the people that they’re thankful
to have in their lives.”
Patty Jo Sawvel is an author and
freelance writer in Kernersville. Contact her at
pjsawvel@gmail.com
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