to put the things they loved about the country
into “a store that arrived in your mailbox.”
They invested $5,000 each and promised not
to take a salary until they turned a profit.
Within months, orders came pouring in.
Into that first 96-page catalog went a few
of their favorite country cooking recipes,
“because everyone loves to try a good new
recipe,” Hutchins says. She was right. By 1992,
Hutchins and Martin had received so much
positive feedback from readers about those
recipes that Gooseberry Patch began publishing its own line of cookbooks.
“Most of our good ideas come from our
customers,” Martin says, proudly noting that
today the company has more than 8 million
cookbooks in print.
A perennial hit, Christmas
All Through the House features
The Costco Connection
Christmas All Through the House is available in
most Costco warehouses and at costco.com.
Seek and
ye shall find
By Stephanie E. Ponder
THERE’S SOMETHING undeniably delightful about finding an object where and when
you least expect it. It’s evident in the popular
Giant Search & Find pads from Kidsbooks.
Kids of all ages can search—and color in—
detailed scenes such as birthday parties,
a marathon or a day at the beach while looking for hidden images such as a paper airplane, snowman, lampshade and much more.
Images to search for are shown across the top
of each page.
Another gem connected with the Search
& Find pads is the rich and diverse history of
the man who illustrates them: Tony Tallarico.
Tallarico, a Costco member, says he has
been interested in writing and drawing for as
long as he could remember. “When it was
book
beat
Gooseberry Patch
specializes in
homemade treats
dozens of holiday recipes and simple craft
ideas. Other popular titles include Church
GOOSEBERRY PATCH
Suppers, Harvest Kitchen and Super-Fast Slow
Cooking. Additional titles are in the works.
The co-founders say that there have been
tough times. In 1998 their business grew dramatically, and they hadn’t quite mastered how
to handle the demand.
“We were still working out of our homes
and our products were here, there and
everywhere, so that was a logistical
nightmare,” Martin shares. “Finally,
we moved into a 53,000-square-
foot building and put everything
under one roof.”
Then came the terrorist attacks
of September 11, 2001. The anthrax
scare made people afraid to use the
post office, and their mail-order
business took a hit. It rebounded, but
in 2008 the nature of their business has changed once again
due to the increased efficiency
of the Internet. They can be found
online at
www.gooseberrypatch.com.
Through it all, Hutchins and Martin have
managed to keep their friendship strong.
“Our offices are still right next to each
other,” Martin explains. “I’m in charge of the
back end of operations, and Vickie works
more on the creative side of things, so we
don’t step on each other’s toes. We also escape
now and then and do the one thing we both
adore: going to antique flea markets..”
Both say the most important lesson they
have learned is to stay true to who you are.
“After you’ve had some success, it’s easy
to go off your path and get into things you
shouldn’t,” says Hutchins. “But it’s important
to remember what brought you to the dance.
We try to give our customers a little more
than they expect, and if we can continue to
build a company that provides nice surprises
and gives people a little comfort when they
need it, I think we’ll have succeeded.” C
Hope Katz Gibbs is a freelance writer in
northern Virginia.
Artist is one of
Kidsbooks’
hidden gems
time to go to high school it
was suggested that I take the
aptitude test for the School of
Industrial Arts in Brooklyn,”
he tells The Connection from
his home in Valley Stream, New
York. Two other classmates
took the test, but Tallarico was
the only one who passed. “From
that point on, I was into it.”
After finishing art school, Tallarico
spent the next 20 years illustrating comic
books such as Blue Beetle, Frankenstein and
Vampirella. In 1966, Tallarico illustrated Lobo,
the first comic book to feature an African-American hero. While he was in the middle of
illustrating the third installment he was told
Tony Tallarico
AN THONY TALLARICO
to stop working on it as the first two volumes
were being returned in unopened boxes—
retailers were unwilling to stock the title in
their stores.
Around that same time, Tallarico illustrated a political satire comic book, The Great
Society Comic Book. The book featured Lyndon
