Gamble's caters to brides, collectors

Owners: David and Sandy Harrison

Address: 1332 E. Republic Road, Ste. B, Springfield, MO 65804

Phone: (417) 881-7555

Fax: (417) 881-7632

Products: Wedding, holiday and all-occasion gifts

Employees: 2 full-time, 5 part-time

It’s been 21 years since Franklin D. Gamble retired from his store, Gamble’s Treasure House, but the business has carried on through two moves and two couples at the helm.

Longtime friends David and Sandy Harrison and Larry and Mary Ann Wakefield purchased the retail store from Franklin Gamble Dec. 11, 1984 – then located on the Plaza Shopping Center at the southeast corner of Sunshine and Glenstone – and renamed it Gamble’s Gift Gallery.

Its reputation back then was as an exclusive shop, and the store was known for upscale gifts of china, crystal and collectibles.

“I remember going there when I lived in Springfield back in the 1960s,” said Mary Carnett, Gamble’s manager. “Oh, to be able to buy something at Gamble’s back then, you just knew you had something wonderful. I think that has carried over all this time.”

Now located in 3,000 square feet at 1332 E. Republic Road, Ste. B, in River Plaza, where it has been for the last six years, the store’s inventory includes hard-to-find pieces such as Waterford, Baccarat and Lalique crystal and Lladro porcelain.

“You can buy anything here from $9 to $9,000,” Sandy Harrison said.

The partnership

Harrison, then a counselor at Parkview High School, and Mary Ann Wakefield, principal at Alice Pittman Elementary School, had been looking for an opportunity to go into business together when Harrison’s husband, author and Glenstone Block Co. owner David Harrison, learned of Franklin Gamble’s desire to sell his store and retire.

“We traveled together and played together, and so we thought we might as well work together,” Sandy Harrison said.

The two women had done a lot of shopping together, at Gamble’s and while traveling, and considered themselves ready to be on the other side of the transaction.

“We felt like we knew everything we needed to know about running that store. That was a little bit of a mistake because we had an awful lot to learn,” Mary Ann Wakefield said, laughing. “We learned a few lessons the hard way, but it was a fun opportunity.”

Nancy Seaton had managed Gamble’s for about five years, Harrison said, and was vital in the transition. Harrison and Wakefield learned how to run the store from Seaton, who is still on staff.

Eight years ago, the Wakefields sold their interest in the store to the Harrisons due to other obligations.

“I miss it terribly and loved it,” Mary Ann Wakefield said. “I learned a lot in many ways. I think it made me a much better principal than I would’ve been. I had a much better business sense than I would’ve if I’d never had the store. And I was probably better about working with other people, too.”

Daily operations

Sandy Harrison runs the store with two full-time and five part-time workers, whom she says are integral to operations.

“We have had really talented, confident people,” she said. “We’ve kind of let them use their own judgment, and we’ve used their ideas. We’ve allowed people to be very inclusive and very involved in what to buy, and they’re so knowledgeable that we’ve been very fortunate to depend on them.”

Also, David Harrison helps at the store, goes to market with his wife, watches trends in the industry and is involved in major decisions. Gamble’s is unique, Harrison said, because of its exclusivity.

“Some of these chain stores in malls may have some of the same products, but they don’t have all of them. And they simply can’t give the individual service to customers that a smaller store can,” he said.

Gamble’s staff continues traditional services such as complimentary gift-wrapping and carrying packages to customers’ cars.

The Harrisons declined to disclose store revenues.

Customer perks

The owners note that Waterford Crystal is one of their store’s prized products.

“We’ve had people from the Waterford factory in to our place of business every year for five years, which is a coup,” David Harrison said.

The last representative from the Irish Waterford company, Odran Fitzgerald, visited Dec. 1.

“He would sign anything that Waterford made,” Sandy Harrison added. “He would sit and talk to people about Ireland. Everybody who came in that day claimed to be Irish.”

Another customer perk at the store is an unusual piece of Springfield history. Brides dating back to the 1960s can still refer to their original registries.

“I do love people coming in and saying, ‘I remember (the store) when I was young,’ or ‘My bridal registry was there. Do you still have it?’ And I can say, ‘Yes, we do,’” Harrison said.

Gamble’s clientele comprises a wide range of ages. Sandy Harrison said one-third of business comes from outside of the Springfield area, and there’s been a growing trend of more male shoppers in recent years.

“There are lots more men shopping and enjoying it. They’re coming in far more often than I remember 20 years ago. They’re willing to shop alone, and they come in alone or with their spouse or intended spouse,” she said. “They’re taking a much bigger interest than they did before.”