The Story Of Legacy Gifts & Engraving
I have passed by Legacy Gifts & Engraving many times before working with The One. Since, I’ve had the privilege of meeting Brandi Steeb of Legacy Gifts & Engraving at many events as well as the family shop to view their milestone pieces. Amazing customer service and beautiful gifts are just a taste of what is offered. Something else they provide is a lot of heart. Enjoy the story of the business (written by Brandi herself) and their business foundation of love.
My name is Brandi Steeb. I’m the daughter of Mike Creel. Legacy Gifts & Engraving is so much more to my brother, my husband, and I than your local gift and engraving store. The name itself comes from our hearts.
I started engraving at 17 years of age for a big box company and fell in love with it. My grandfather did leather work and my father loved woodworking, so metal work seemed to put me right in that line. It is in our blood.
When the company I worked for closed half its stores in the US, I was offered 2 choices: to find another job or move to California and keep working for them. I couldn’t leave Texas or my family, but I was heartbroken to lose what I loved to do. My father came to me and said, “Well, do you want to go to college, or should we open up our own shop?” I almost fainted, but answered, “They don’t have engraver’s colleges.” He smiled.
We don’t come from money, but an engraving shop and working beside my Dad was so much more than I could have ever dreamed. So, I did the research, made a business plan, scoped out the equipment I would need, and after a few months and lots of bumps, my father opened ‘Today Tomorrow Always Engraving’ in a tiny store front in Corpus Christi.
Even though we struggled with everyday business and family issues, and also with disasters like Hurricane Harvey, we were making it work. We were able to expand into a bigger building and add new ways to personalize items, most importantly bonding with our customers over life’s most precious moments.
For seventeen years I worked at TTA for my Dad, honing my engraving skills and learning all I could about what our customers needed and how to make memories that last. I know I am truly blessed and so grateful for such a wonderful family operation, and that makes the hard times worth it. When our little girl, Jemma, was born in 2016 with special needs, we were able to remodel so she could have her own little space at our shop to play. I can keep an eye on her and keep our business going, usually with some help from her Pawpaw or Nana.
Sadly, in September 2019, Daddy passed away and the business went with him. I sat down with my family to decide what to do and it did not take us long. He would want us to keep going and we must try and keep his legacy alive. That is how Legacy Gifts & Engraving started… from the ashes of a father’s love and a daughter’s dream. The family tree in our logo is for our woodworking father and our dear little family. We hope to one day pass Legacy Gifts & Engraving down for generations to come starting with Jemma.
The amount of love and support we have received from family, friends, customers, and people that knew Dad has been so overwhelmingly wonderful and we want to make Dad proud, and want to make all of those who have helped us proud to.
We are again in hard times with COVID-19 and we will do anything we can to continue our Legacy. A special Thank You goes to Miss Laura and Miss Debbie, two of my mentors who encouraged me to start trying to tell our story not long after Daddy was called home. Our Dad was an amazing man, and this is only a small part of how great he was.
Special thanks to LEGACY GIFTS & ENGRAVING for sharing their story! You can find follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/legacygiftscc/ and Instagram @legacygiftscc!
To learn more about their services, you can give them a call at (361) 334-0239 and to see available offerings check out their website: www.legacygiftscc.com
Don’t forget to use our free wedding planning resource at http://www.theone.community to figure out your budget and make sure to add Legacy Gifts & Engraving to your shortlist of faves!