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Company History
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Vacant Chicken Barn Turns Into a Nationwide Greenhouse Business |
The year was 1973. Richard Nixon was president. The Miami Dolphins won the NFL Superbowl. Martin Cooper, the inventor of the mobile
phone made the first mobile call. That was the year Charley Yaw, not long after graduating from Oregon State University, decided to start his own
business adventure - designing and building portable buildings. With no money in his pockets, but an entrepreneur's dream in his heart, he found
a vacant chicken barn near Pine Lake, Washington and started building.
Soon afterwards, a customer asked Charley if he would turn one of his portable buildings into a backyard greenhouse. Charley went about building it, putting
it on his trusty, old Ford pickup, and delivering it to his first elated greenhouse customer! He quickly saw a niche market that wasn't being met
and launched into building hobby greenhouses. Business soon expanded by
word of mouth from satisfied customers.
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Charley's Catalog is Born |
Local, commercial suppliers were not interested
in selling hobby gardeners small quantities of pots, propagation mats, lights
and other growing accessories for their greenhouses. Increasingly, customers
were asking Charley to help them source equipment and supplies for their
new greenhouses.
How about a catalog?
Since Charley had been born and raised in Sitka, Alaska on a remote island,
shopping by catalog was a way of life instilled in his genes early on. It
was a big event when the ship docked in town with catalog goods families
had been anxiously waiting for. The Yaw family story goes, when Charley
was born on Christmas Eve, his 6-year-old sister even thought Charley was
a Christmas present his parents had ordered from the familiar Sears and
Roebuck Catalog!
So it was destiny that Charley and his wife, Carol, put together the first
16-page, black-and-white supply catalog for their greenhouse customers.
Money was scarce and they only had enough to print 400 catalogs. The initial
reception, however, was overwhelming. They soon began mailing catalogs out
to all parts of the country.
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Steady, Slow Growth |
Carol supported the family, which now included
two young children in those early years, by teaching elementary school.
This enabled Charley's to continue to grow. As greenhouse demand increased,
Charley added new greenhouse lines from England, Canada, Germany, China
and Denmark to the supply catalog. Specialized hobby greenhouse equipment
and supply offerings expanded as Charley's became the USA's #1 supplier.
Innovative propagation, lighting, easier gardening, solar, building materials,
and other unique gardening products continued to make their way into the
catalog. Catalog editions, size and circulation steadily increased.
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Please
Come Visit Us - But Make Sure
You Know Which Mt. Vernon! |
Charley's has outgrown its facilities several
times over the years as we've continued to add products, offices and staff.
Currently we occupy 14,000 sq. ft. in facilities in the fertile Skagit Valley
of Mt. Vernon, Washington - home of the internationally acclaimed Skagit
Valley Tulip Festival. FLASH! Every year or so we have a customer who calls
us from Washington, D.C. and says they're planning on stopping by on their
lunch hour, thinking we're in Mt. Vernon, Virginia instead of Mt. Vernon,
Washington! We're glad they called in advance and wonder about the ones
who didn't call? We delight in having our mail order customers
from all over the USA stop in to see us when they're coming through. We've
talked on the phone and e-mailed with so many of you over the years. It's
a special pleasure for us to greet you and thank you in person for your
continued support.
Our Orignial Charley's Angels
Laurie, Lynnette & Julie
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CharleysGreenhouse.com |
In 1997, the company went online. Today you'll
find hundreds of quality products online, plus helpful greenhouse and gardening
tips. The web continues to be a dynamic marketing tool that is dramatically
reshaping Charley's current and future business.
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Today at Charley's |
From that first portable building Charley turned
into a backyard greenhouse, our greenhouse lines have evolved considerably.
Today we offer 17 different styles of the best hobby greenhouses available
worldwide. We have extensive sizes, home-attached models, plus customization
for many of them. Our knowledgeable greenhouse consultants are available
by phone and online to help you every step of the way from choosing your
greenhouse through growing those tomatoes in it! From Charley's first local
Ford pickup delivery we have grown to shipping greenhouses daily all over
the USA plus internationally. Our catalog equipment and supply product lines
have expanded from the first 200 to over 1,200 hard-to-find greenhouse and
garden items for avid gardeners. Our catalog equipment and supply product lines
have expanded from the first 200 to over 1,200 hard-to-find greenhouse and
garden items for avid gardeners.
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What's In a Name? |
The idea to name our business Charley's Greenhouse
Supplies, after Charley who started it was a no brainer. The most common
spelling however is Charlie's Greenhouse by many of our customers and even
some of our employees still. Through the years, our name has gone through
a few changes that reflect the growth of the company. In 1997, we officially
became Charley's Greenhouses & Indoor Growing Supplies. By 1999, we
added "gardening supplies" to the tag line. And by 2001, the company
had grown so much that we felt the name Charley's Greenhouse & Garden
said it all and said it best.
Well
it is not surprising to find that even after 44 years, Charlies
Greenhouse is still a common misspelling of our company name
on letters, mail order checks, and in search engine results.
No matter whether you find us as Charleys Greenhouse
or Charlies Greenhouses (without the apostrophe), or
maybe Charlies Greenhouse Supply, or just plain Charley's
you've come to the right place for hobby greenhouse kits and
supplies.
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Charley's Secret To Success |
From that first greenhouse Charley built and
sold, superior customer service and support has been the guiding
principle. Charley's mission statement has stood the test of time and still says it all -
"In a friendly and supportive work environment,
we seek to provide excellent customer service, quality greenhouses
and innovative products to greenhouse and indoor gardeners.
We are dedicated to assisting gardeners of all ages to enjoy
gardening in harmony with nature."
Charley's staff is very proud of, and works
hard to maintain, our long-standing reputation as innovative
leaders in the USA for hobby greenhousing. You'll find our
excellent customer service and knowledge second to none!
Welcome to Charley's!
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Charley and Carol Yaw, 1974 with 1st roadside greenhouse display
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1975
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1978
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1981
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1989
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1992
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1996
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2000
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2001
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2007
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2015
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Carol
& Charley 2015
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If you have questions or wish additional information, please contact
our friendly, knowledgeable staff.
Questions? Contact us.
Please call us Toll Free at 1-800-322-4707 or
FAX us at 1-360-873-8264 or come on in and Visit
our Retail Store.
Explore our easy-to-navigate helpful Greenhouse
Gardening Tips and Greenhouse
Construction Tips here on our site. You may just find the information
you are looking for.
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