Much ado about Scrappy-Do’s

Four years ago Trudi Wells was looking for something fun and new in her life—and Scrappy-Do's was born

Trudi Wells' shop is filled to the brim with scrapbooking supplies and more. — Madison Samuel-Barclay photo

Invermere is one of the biggest tourist and art communities in the Columbia Valley, with galleries and hobby shops lining either side of the busy 7th Avenue. Near the corner of the avenue is a small shop with a large window inviting passersby to look in. If the colourful crafts beyond the glass don’t pull onlookers in, the droopy-eyed bloodhound blinking out the door will.

“Sometimes I think I work for the dog,” laughed Trudi Wells, owner and operator of Scrappy-Do’s, Invermere’s renowned scrapbooking store.

Wells’ dog, Matilda, is indeed one of the more famous proprietors on 7th Avenue. Residents know the pooch by name, and Wells said Matilda’s naturally soppy-sad face tends to draw people into the shop, though sometimes just to greet the dog.

Indulging her creative side

Wells' love of scrapbooking was sparked while she was living just outside Houston, Texas, where she had moved to and had her children, and worked as a paramedic.

“I've always liked crafts, and I've always liked taking pictures,” said Wells. “One day I was contacted by a lady who (had) a home-based scrapbooking business. She saw a birth announcement I had made and put into the paper, and she contacted me and invited me to a workshop to learn about scrapbooking— and I went, and that was it.”

When Wells’ paramedic licence expired, she and her family moved back to British Columbia, finding residence in Invermere. However, she was still eager to find work, and something “fun and new” in her life.

“When I moved back here, trying to figure out what I was going to do," Wells said, "that was one of the things my girlfriends that lived here kept saying: ’Open a scrapbooking store, open a scrapbooking store.’ "

A playful approach 

When Wells first began to scout out a shop location, it didn’t take her very long to come up with a name for her store.

"When I got into scrapbooking down in Texas, one of my best friends also scrapbooked and she always called herself the Scrapbook Queen,"” said Wells. “So I, of course, had to come up with my own name, and we started calling me Scrappy-Do's. I've probably had the name for about 10 years now. It was a no-brainer for the name of the shop when I got here.”

As for the shop itself, Wells describes it as “the most awkward-shaped store you can imagine.”

And she would be right. Organizing and personalizing the triangle-shaped interior of Scrappy-Do’s could pose a challenge to some. However, after opening the store in October 2007, Wells has had four years to get the design down pat. She now works the walls and shelves to her advantage, creating a space that is comfortable yet filled to the brim with products.

“I broke the store up into themes,” said Wells as she walked through the store, Matilda waddling after her.

The very first thing customers see when they enter the shop is what is in season, be it beach-themed decorations for summer or little Christmas trees and snowflake designs for the winter. Directly beside this display is a wall of travel-themed products, which are a big hit with tourists. Wells has postercards personalized with Invermere, Radium Hot Springs and other Columbia Valley communities—she designed these herself.

From there, each part of the store is organized into categories and sections; products are imported from American scrapbooking manufacturers, and some are practically multipurpose—useful for more crafts than just scrapbooking. With each section so thoroughly organized, returning customers always know where something is the moment they walk in, Wells said, adding that she will order in products on request for customers as well.

Near the window looking out onto the street is also a craft table. Customers are free to bring in their crafts or ideas, and Wells can help customers pick out products and lay out the craft plan, and they can sit and scrapbook or craft together. Scrappy-Do’s also hosts craft classes.