Meet The WFS Crew....Installment 3

Now that you know Michelle and Leilana, it's time to introduce you to Betsy, our resident artist and muse.

Betsy's real name is Violetta, but that's a mouthful, so she mainly goes by her nickname. We call her our artist because she's so creative and her lettering is perfect. She's responsible for making the majority of our hand-written signage in the store and outside.

There's a sense of quiet strength to Betsy, and her love of children shows in all she does. Put her anywhere there are children and she's happy. Betsy works part time with us, mainly in the mornings and weekends because her "real" job is working at Mayfield Jr. School in Pasadena. It's too cute to hear the children calling her "Miss Betsy" when they come into the store! Betsy says that she loves to be around children because it's from children that she learns about life. In her own words, "not only do kids brighten up your day when you're feeling blue, they also make you feel so loved".

Betsy and her family are local residents, too and when she's not working, she loves to be with them. She also loves listening to music. Music, she says, is therapy for the soul. She wants to go back to school to get her college degree and work with kids. She's not sure yet if she wants to be a juvenile probation officer, a social worker or a teacher, but she's working on the decision. She also dreams of helping her mom buy her dream home someday. Most young people Betsy's age would think of buying themselves something, like a new car or clothes, but not Betsy. That's what we love about her - always thinking of someone else's needs before her own. That was so evident during her little sister's recent bout with leukemia, which thankfully, she seems to be winning. She was there for her in every way possible and that's difficult when you're working two jobs. Kudos to Betsy for keeping it together for her family during such a terrible time.

When asked what she enjoys most working at WFS, she replied, "it's close to home, so that's a plus! I also like the fact that we get involved with the Altadena community, make donations and want to make improvements. I like that we inform people about how your town benefits when you spend your money in locally-owned businesses. I love how we've shifted our emphasis toward earth-friendly and locally-made products and feel that we've taken that important first step that hopefully other retailers will follow. But the best thing about WFS is that I love my co-workers - we're like family!"

You're like family to us, too, Betsy - thank you for all you do!