So, I have sort of introduced myself and the store. I have shown you all the places we love to eat and fashion tips from me to you. But you don’t know who we are! I’d like to introduce you to the Gather and Collect crew, the people who make Gather and Collect a home!
Let’s start off with Julie, the starter of all of this craziness! Julie wants you all to know, “I am the owner/ curator of Gather + Collect. We’ve been in Glen Ellyn since May of 2011. I enjoy binge-watching serial killer documentaries, cheese, and floating in pools. Dislikes are most vegetables, chin hair, and assholes.” Is there anymore you need to know?
Next up is Heather, and boy, do we love Heather. Heather “is the glue that holds this shitsow together. Literally E6000 in human form. My likes are my couch and tv remote, serial killers, and cheese. Dislikes are basic: outdoors, organized outings, heat, and most people, floating in pools, chin hairs, and assholes.I am the BFF of the owner and have been here since 2018 or so!” I would like to add that she is also the one who buys all the snacks for the store, which I personally appreciate very much.
Leah, or one of my closest friends, thanks to Gather, is an awesome member of our team. “I’ve been working here for 5 years in october! I’m now a junior at the University of Iowa, so you will mostly see me during the summer months! My favorite thing about Gather and Collect is our amazing puzzle selection.”
Then there is Amanda! A newer member of our team, but loved just the same. “Hi! I’m Amanda, and I’ve been at G&C for just shy of 2 years. As is true for many, I drank the Julie Spiller Kool-Aid many years ago, and as fate would have it, I was lucky enough to land a job working for her. I live in Elmhurst and am a former stay-at-home mom, a soon-to-be empty nester, and an occasional writer/editor. My hobbies are: mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and spamming people with useless content, swearing, cuddling my dogs, and playing mahjongg. I also occasionally read, exercise, and spend time with my family and friends. Oh, and I’m a puzzler. Stay fresh, Cheese Bags. IYKYK.”
And next up is Rose! “I am a new edition to the Gather and Collect family but I have known Julie for years! 🙂 I am an avid reader, love true crime documentaries and from that have a very morbid sense of humor. Come visit me at the shop!” Rose can’t have her photo up, so instead we drew this very lifelike, spitting image rendition of her for you all!
Ophelia, our sweet, sweet little! “I’m Ophelia! Reader, writer, and collector with obsessions ranging from Taiwanese rap music to sassy socks and everything in between. Ask me about my dog!”
And finally, there is I! I’m Mallory, but you can call me Mal. The Latin root for bad. I love music, gyros, and fun colors! I dislike mean people, rollercoasters, and the heat. There is much more to me than what I’ve written, but it is so hard to talk about yourself! Gosh, why don’t you try it!
There is a lot more to all of us! A lot you can learn if you visit us at the shop, there is a new person every day with new fun things to talk to you about! Thanks for reading and learning a little bit more about us.
Stay awesome and keep collecting,
Mallory