Our DH Streets Spotlights : Leann Gallardo

Full-Time Mom /Wife/DH Resident/ Founder of Celebrations R Us

It's hard to visit Leann's Celebrations R Us shop and not start to think of the coming Spring & Summer parties that her customizable items can be used for. Located not far from Scroggins Elementary in Denver Harbor, Leann carved out a work area out of the home she keeps with her husband & two sons. Creative ideas & being party-planning savvy, Leann meets with people by appointment to get them set up with custom invitations, party favors, & (if called for) a costumed character for their event. April will mark 1 year that Leann became her own boss & her business began establishing itself within the DH community. I felt very welcomed sitting down with Leann in her shop to discuss Celebrations R Us & how she thinks Denver Harbor residents can begin to reconnect & feel safer in their own streets.

D- Tell me about your business.
L-I do personalized invitations, party goods, mint books, candy bars & I am also in the costume entertainment business for all occasions; Meaning, we have costume characters that will come to your party and play games with kids, dance, give out prizes, organize for birthday cake singing, and provide a present to the birthday boy or girl.In all aspects of my business I try to budget out reasonably so that I can provide things at a good price because I'm aware of people's money situations.

D- What inspired you to start your own business & why in Denver Harbor?
L-My children. For their parties, I would rent character costumes and organize games and just seeing their faces after having such a great time really inspired me. Once I had my younger child, I was really driven to be closer to both of my sons. Plus, I wanted to create something that can turn into a family business.
I have always lived in DH, so it was easy and natural to start here. I also feel like people grow up here, leave, and then talk down about the neighborhood. But, if people stay and become invested in it, the community could be nicer or have the things they say they leave the neighborhood for.

D- What would you say is a specialty service that you provide compared to other places & which of your items is your favorite?
L- One of the great things about us is that you can get most of your party items in one place. I provide packages set up in that way and offer discounts based on what you order together. Before going full time with the business, I would just do candy bar favors. So, they are my favorite because they leave alot of room to be creative and can be used in a variety of ways. Some people have come to me to do candy bars for fundraisers or as thank you's for their events, for example.

D- So, you grew up in DH. What can you say about the changes that have come with time here?
L- I used to walk from one side of the neighborhood to the other and feel safe because I felt like these were my streets. Everybody knew each others families. We'd have festivals in the parks here, people would come out, but the city don't do that anymore. It's not like it used to be. I feel that if we had similar events, the people would know each other more personally & feel safe again.

Leann plans to expand her costume character selection in the next months and hopes the Springtime weather & Summer get-togethers will help her business become more successful. She wants to see Denver Harbor residents pull together more and more as a community. I think Leann's energy and pride in our DH streets are the types of things that will cultivate amazing results for her & all the people she will come across through her hard work. If you have a special event coming up, do yourself a favor and check out:

Celebrations R Us
713-671-1149
www.myspace.com/leann_celebrations_r_us
celebrationsrus2008@yahoo.com