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Memorial Cookbooks Available

New Cookbook from High Country Hospice of Alleghany County
New Cookbook from High Country Hospice of Alleghany County

We’re proud to be one of the locations selling the High Country Hospice‘s new cookbook, Meals and Memories. They’re priced at $20 apiece or (2) for $35. You can pick one up at The Sparta Store, online or in town.

We let them use one of our photographs on the cover and we think the end result looks great. Thank you for letting us help with your project!

Recipes That Raised Us - Volume One

Also, we’re selling the Historical Society’s cookbook, Recipes That Raised Us. They’re working on a second volume, so the next time you visit the Museum, bring your recipes and memories for Volume 2.

It doesn’t cost anything and its a great way to remember someone special and their recipe. We need a photo (if it was made by a professional photographer, we will need their permission to copy it- No exceptions, sorry) a recipe and any information you’d like to include.

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2010 Hillbilly Show

The 2010 Hillbilly Show is this weekend. It’ll be Saturday night, at 7:00pm at the Sparta School Auditorium. Agnes Joines from the Alleghany Jubilee directs it and we’re sure it’ll be a show to remember. The Hillbilly Show is put on by BROC‘s Alleghany Planning Committee and the proceeds of the show go to help the needy in our county.

Our friend Hillbilly Wes is always involved with the show. This year he wanted to have a few promotional items for it. We’ve done mugs and buttons in the past. This year, we made him a couple of T-shirts.

Promotional shirt and mug for Hillbilly Wes

We’ve done vinyl graphics for interior walls, outdoor signs, and glass window decals. Now we’ve tackled the fabric challenge! We’re cutting Enduratex Hotmark 70 apparel vinyl (available in any color) and applying it to Hanes Beefy Ts. We think these shirts will be great for other events – family reunions, annual club meetings, etc. Also, look for new shirts and hoodies in The Sparta Store, in-store and online, this fall.

If you need custom T-shirts, call 336-372-3002 or email claire@imagingspecialists.net for pricing and availability.

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Giant 4’x20′ Banner at the Mountain Heritage Festival

Writing our book, coming up with that list of 75 business tips, and being interviewed on TV sure took a lot out of us. And we’re celebrating the Parkway’s 75th Anniversary.

But we wanted to focus on what’s happening next weekend in Sparta, the Mountain Heritage Festival. We’re sponsors of the event and we wanted to share our involvement with this year’s Festival.

20' 2010 Mountain Heritage Banner by Imaging Specialists
20 foot 2010 Mountain Heritage Banner by Imaging Specialists

The Chamber originally asked for a banner listing the names of the MH Sponsors, but we thought we could almost as easily add their logos.  So here is our contribution to the day, 46″ by 20′ and 9-colors- maybe the largest banner ever at the festival, certainly the largest out of our shop.

Heritage Day’s always a lot of fun. There are lots of food booths and craft vendors and all the shops downtown are open. Our prints at The Sparta Store will still be priced at 75%, in honor of the Parkway’s 75th. We’ll have the shop open all day (except for a little while in the middle of the day when we’ll close long enough to get ourselves some lunch. And hopefully a funnel cake. Or ribbon fries. or both.)

In between watching the bands and chowing down, come in to the store and say “Hey!” And be sure to stay till 3:00 to see the Possum Queen Contest at the Alleghany Jubilee.

If you need a 20′ banner with 21 local business logos or if you just need great yard-sale signs, stop by Imaging Specialists. Mention this post for a 10% discount on your next banner order through the month of October.

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“Can You Do Better?” – Pricing & Payment Options

Can You Do Better?

Often, when we give a price or an estimate people ask, “Can you do better?” It’s a common question and in today’s economy, an understandable one.

Like everyone in business, our pricing is determined by our costs, the market and the need to make a profit. Indeed, our product and service line is set by our customers’ needs and our ability to make a profit.

We can’t base our prices on a competitors’ prices- no one could, long term. Big box stores can afford to lower prices beyond what a small business could stand. That’s why they thrive. And we certainly won’t set pricing by the countless “deals” available on the internet. To be sure, there are great niche businesses on the web, that give fast and/or cheap service but there are also countless risky, anonymous and questionable sites out there. The old saying is true online and off- you get what you pay for.

So, when someone asks, “Can you do better?” we tell them, “We give better service, and better quality, but there is always someone out there who can give a lower price.” Our goal is and has always been to offer great service at a fair price.

We absolutely understand that there are situations when a consumer has to shop by price, but our ultimate goal is to sell by value.

Payment Options

We accept payment in many different ways. By allowing for different payment options, we hope we make it easier for our customers to use our services.

Cash & Check- We can accept payments at order or at delivery. (For some sign and print jobs, however, we require half on order.) Cash and check are the quickest, easiest way to pay.

Credit & Debit Cards– You can also pay with your credit or debit card. Our credit and debit card transactions are processed using PayPal’s virtual terminal. Learn about PayPal’s security features here.

Online– We can accept payment to our PayPal account online for Sparta Store orders as well as invoiced jobs. You do not have to have a PayPal account to pay via PayPal.

Pay Over Time– For websites, we allow for payment of the authoring fee over the course of your first year online, added to the hosting fee. It’s less of a burden on our customers and allows us to have recurring income each month.

Pay In Advance– We can charge hosting fees for 3, 6, or 12 months at a time, or at another monthly interval you would prefer.

Talk to us about what we can do to make our pricing clearer or your payments easier.