Courier & Press:
Four years after starting her own business, garden marker manufacturer Chris Ingler has found her niche.
What started as a way to track her 3,000 day lilies has blossomed into a business that has 500 garden markers waiting to be engraved weekly.
“When I started getting so many day lilies, I needed a way to organize them,” says Ingler. “I had so many that I bought an engraver to keep signs in my yard. It seemed to just evolve into a business from there.”
After seeing her markers, guests began to place orders for their gardens. As word-of-mouth grew, more people began calling.
Finally getting confident that she had stumbled on a sought-after item, Ingler developed a Web site and accepted more orders.
Not only did Engraved Garden Path Markers evolve from her hobby, it took off fast. In just four years, Ingler has provided signs for customers in every state in the U.S. except Alaska, as well as every province in Canada. Ingler credits fast service and word-of-mouth advertising for the quick launch of Engraved Garden Path Markers.
“I’ve hit a home run,” says Ingler. “My work is all over our community and in universities and parks across the entire country.”
Photo by Courier & Press.