Hayden woman is 'sharing joy' through custom sign business
HAYDEN — When it comes to her business, Elise Smith is a one-woman show.
Smith began the search for something to let her creative juices flow in early 2022, after staying at home with her four children since 2010.
As fate would have it, Smith’s mother came across a group of women setting up large, colorful yard signs during a visit to Texas. From those women, her mother learned about a company called Sign Gypsies and immediately called Smith to tell her she had found exactly the sort of work her daughter had been looking for.
“Sharing joy with people — how could I not say yes?” Smith said.
After toying with the idea of starting an independent sign business, Smith ultimately decided to open her own Sign Gypsies franchise in Hayden.
“I needed something extremely flexible so I can still be around for my kids,” Smith said.
Using graphics designed by company artists, Smith builds custom rental celebratory yard signs tailored to her customers’ favorite colors and interests.
Smith’s signs are mostly weatherproof and typically build out to about 15 feet long and 4 feet high. They contain about $500-800 worth of wholesale graphics.
Smith runs the franchise completely on her own; she designs, installs and picks up the signs, manages bookings and markets the business.
And she’s happy to do it.
“I've installed signs during snowstorms, rainstorms and in blistering heat,” Smith said. “When I see those smiles, it makes everything worth it. I love sharing joy with others and making people happy — Sign Gypsies helps me do that.”
Smith also likes to add a touch of magic to the sign installations whenever she can.
“If a sign is ordered for a birthday, I install the evening before and the recipient wakes up to a surprise,” Smith said. “I try to be a ninja in the yard, and my goal is to not be discovered as I set up.”
Now, three years after starting her Sign Gypsies franchise, Smith has been named Hayden Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Year.
“Never in a million years did I think my little one-woman show would win an award,” Smith said. “I have put so much literal blood, sweat and tears into getting Sign Gypsies CDA up and running. ... To receive recognition that someone acknowledges how hard I have worked has been so appreciated.”
Since 2022, Smith has worked with organizations such as Make-a-Wish, Specialized Needs Recreation, the North Idaho State Fair, local Parent Teacher Associations/Organizations and the Hayden Triathlon.
Looking forward, Smith hopes to grow Sign Gypsies into the go-to place for people hosting events and celebrations.
“(I’d love to) get to the point where I need to hire a helper or two,” Smith said.
Now the Tidbits
• Kootenai Vision Center, which has been located at 1801 N. Third St. in Coeur d'Alene for over 50 years, is moving to 3914 E. Early Dawn Ave. in Post Falls following a change in ownership.
• Bodytech Skin & Massage Center is changing its name to Bliss Day Spa. Bliss Day Spa is a full-service day spa in Hayden that does lashes, facials, hydro oxygen facials, nail services, sugaring hair removal, massages, sauna, cold plunge, red light therapy and more. Located at 2151 W. Hayden Ave., Hayden.
• A new catering company, 208 Gather & Graze, is coming to North Idaho. Described as North Idaho's exclusive mobile grazing experience, 208 Gather & Graze curates the perfect menu and on the day of your event serves your guests from a charming grazing cart with fresh enticing bites. Also offering charcuterie and dessert boards.
• Chip Cookies at 291 E. Appleway Ave. in Coeur d'Alene has been renamed to Appleway Cookies. Check www.applewaycookies.com.
• J-U-B Engineers will move from 7825 Meadowlark Way to 745 W. Hanley Ave. Phone 208-376-7330. Check www.jub.com.
• With an opening planned for this year, the new Post Falls Local Market will be at Highway 41 and Hope Avenue. It will include an espresso coffee shop, a San Francisco Sourdough restaurant, a high-quality deli with fresh-made breakfast sandwiches and fresh smash burgers. The grocery and beverage selection includes juices, beers, wines, groceries and ice cream. Follow it on Instagram.
• A huge Early Dawn Commercial Center is planned for the Highway 41 and Early Dawn intersection. Planned to open in April, it includes three buildings of 12,000 square feet, all with five or six commercial suites. Anyone interested should contact Danny Davis of TOKcommercial.com (208-691-6003).
• The Raising Canes restaurant company has applied for a site development at 201 Neider Ave. in Coeur d'Alene. Located in front of the At Home store off U.S. 95, the chicken-chain building will be 3,368 square feet with a dual-lane drive-through. The general contractor listed is Embree Construction Group of Georgetown, Texas, with architectural work by PM Design Group of Englewood, Colo. Check www.raisingcanes.com.
• A four-story Residence Inn is proposed for Northwest Boulevard between Emma Avenue and West Davidson Avenue by CDA Hotel Inc., the same developer as the proposed Marriott Hotel on Sherman Avenue.
• Lakeside CrossFit Athletic & Wellness Club will be at 215 E. Lakeside.
• A mixed-used building "Nonna" is planned for 102 E. Fourth Ave. in Post Falls. Mother-daughter Laura and Kelsey Horn will have commercial space on the main floor with a Miss Dazee's brunch restaurant. The three upper floors will house 33 apartments with 25 covered parking spaces and 18 on-street spaces. Developers include DCI Engineers, Kartchner Engineering, Facet Engineering, HDG Architecture with Michael Mannhard, Aubrey Plaisance and Monique Vang.
• A new location for Relic Moon will be at 305 E. Locust Ave.
• A building with six commercial suites and 44 parking spaces is under construction at 9627 Government Way (the northwest corner with Hayden Avenue). Planned to open in the spring, all units are available through Kiemle Hagood Real Estate's Mary Kienbaum (208-770-2589 or mary.kienbaum@kiemlehagood.com) and Chad Burd (208-770-2597 or chad.burd@kiemlehagood.com).
• The North Point Plaza is under development at the intersection of Poleline and Highway 41 north of Post Falls. The 7-Eleven store should open soon, and the Grocery Outlet store should open early in 2025. Four remaining parcels are available for tenants or buyers through developer Jordan Wirsz of Corhaven Properties. Phone 208-834-1000. Check www.corhaven.com.
• Coffee Warehouse will be in a 50,000-square-foot building under construction at 4291 W. Poleline Ave. off Pleasant View Road in Post Falls. Opening early in 2025, sales will be open to coffee stands and shops with business licenses and the general public. It will also offer delivery options. Check www.thecoffeewarehouseinc.com.
• A retail and manufacturing business primarily for outdoor products, Yozzy Overland will move in the spring from 9044 W. Prairie Ave. (Suite 107) to the new building off Huetter Road and north of Interstate 90. The new location will have a large showroom, warehouse and manufacturing space. John Yozamp is company founder and CEO and is assisted by Brady O'Neil and Morgan St. Onge. Phone 208-262-7216. Check www.yozzyoverland.com.
• Four commercial suites on each floor are planned for a two-story building under construction at Fourth Street and Birch Avenue. Three of the main floor suites are office-retail with a coffee shop-bakery-small restaurant. The upstairs has suites of 450-650 square feet. For information, contact Duffy Smock of Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty at 208-699-5466 or Duffy@windermere.com.
• Pre-development information in Post Falls has been requested by Nom Nom, Discount Tire, Freddy's Steakburgers and a Tru by Hilton Hotel for the Point at Post Falls development area. Other possible new businesses include a Houston Hot Chicken at Highway 41 and Mullan. Places at Highway 41 and Prairie can include a Metro Express car wash, Human Bean Coffee, a McDonald's and an indoor trampoline park. Possible new places coming to Coeur d'Alene include a Sleep Number and Jersey Mike's near the At Home store off Neider Avenue.
• Offering outdoor gear, shoes, clothing, accessories and home furnishings, Sierra Trading Post will occupy the location of the former Bed, Bath & Beyond store in the complex at 440 Wilbur Ave. (west of U.S. 95). Planning to open in the spring, its merchandise is geared toward outdoor recreation, fitness and adventure. Check www.sierra.com.
• With plans to relocate its administrative operations and Coeur d'Alene area lending teams within the next two years, Mountain West Bank has acquired the large Spokesman-Review building at 608 Northwest Blvd. The branch at the corner of Ironwood Drive and Government Way will remain where it has been since 1993. Check www.mountainwestbank.com.
• A new location for Kootenai Vision Center is under construction at the corner of Highway 41 and Early Dawn Avenue in Post Falls. Completion of the clinic with two leasable sites should be soon.
• A new location for Indigo Urgent Care is under construction at 151 W. Prairie Ave. in Hayden. The new place will open in early 2025 as a joint venture between Kootenai Health and Multicare. Check www.indigohealth.com.
• Watch for a major development on property at the intersection of Hanley Avenue and Atlas Road.
• Two new buildings for the Local Markets company will open next year at the intersections of Best Avenue and 15th Street in Coeur d'Alene and Highway 41 and Hope Road in Post Falls. What they will offer will be similar to the existing Local Market at Atlas Road and Seltice Way. The Markets will have an emphasis on produce, fresh flowers, coffee and products sourced from local vendors with fresh-made deli sandwiches and pastry bars and premium espresso coffees with drive-throughs. Owned by Andy Singh, the stores are architecturally designed to fit the local landscapes and surrounding communities. They will include gas and electric car charging.
• A new building at 4378 W. Selway Ave. in Riverbend Commerce Park will house Dragon Jacket Insulation.
• A Milk & Honey coffee stand will be at 5273 Government Way.
• A proposed Marriott Hotel will be on about a half acre at 602 and 612 E. Sherman Ave. The six-story hotel would include 131 guest rooms, 130 parking stalls among the main level and three levels underground, an administration area, a bar, kitchen, lounge, dining area, meeting area, laundry, fitness room and a rooftop patio bar.
• The Marcus Anderson building under construction at 8182 N. Wayne Drive in Hayden has commercial units to be occupied by Ascent Counseling and Marcus Anderson Family Foundation (now at 8382 N. Wayne Drive). A third unit of 1,508 square feet is available through Marissa McCreary at admin@maffidaho.com. The building should be done soon.
• The Thomas George building under construction at Third Street and Front Avenue downtown will be 18 stories. It will comprise 60 condominiums on floors 4-18 with garages, an on-site concierge, a 24-hour gym, golf simulator, indoor-outdoor pool and a lakeview community terrace. The first floor will have a Union Roasters shop with coffees and pastries. For information, contact Hayden Anderl at 208-964-0234 or hayden@cbinw.com. Check www.haydenanderl.com.
• The Appleway Quarter new building at 295 E. Appleway will have businesses on the ground floor and 24 apartments on the two floors above. The 6,000 square feet remaining could contain one to three units. Contact Chad Oakland at 208-704-2000 or chad@nwidaho.com. Dan Stubbs shares ownership. The apartments (16 two-bedroom and eight one-bedroom) will have private decks and share common-area patios, an elevator and garages or carports. The building should be complete next fall by J. Meyer Construction with Momentum Architecture.
• With many options for food and beverages in an elevated space and on a patio, Rooted Social House is planned for 310 N. Spokane St. in Post Falls.
• A four-story 151-room Hyatt Place Hotel is planned for the Millworx development on Fourth Avenue in Post Falls.
• Mountain View Business Center's commercial leases for flex space in the new building at 9044 W. Prairie Ave. are all taken. More info later.
• Describing it as a "new product vendor mall," Marketplace@Miles is under construction in the southeast corner of Government Way and Miles Avenue in Hayden. Spaces in a variety of sizes are available for retail vendors with additional onsite storage offered. Information is through Commercial Real Estate Consultants at 208-691-5328 and www.marketplaceatmiles.com.
• Suites are leased in a new building at 2420 Government Way. Ranging from 898 to 915 square feet, each unit is a shell with a fully finished bathroom with tenants finishing the balance of the space.
• Huetter Business Park, which is three flex industrial and office buildings owned by Etco Services, will open on Huetter Road north of Interstate 90 and Seltice Way. About 8,600 square feet and yard space are available in each building through leasing agent Jeffrey Simonds of Coldwell Banker Commercial Schneidmiller Realty at 208-518-8860.
• With buildings of 168,000 and 238,000 square feet, The Pointe at Post Falls is at North Beck Road and Pointe Parkway. Zoned industrial, the buildings have deck-high loading doors and eight ground-level drive-in doors. Check Darren Slackman for lease rates at dslackman@naiblack.com. Phone 509-622-3593.
• With 16 luxury apartments on floors 2 and 3 and an Akamai Coffee Co. on the ground floor, the Midtown Centre Apartments building should be complete soon at 821 N. Fourth St. The contact is John Beutler of Century 21 Realty at 208-765-5554.
• Two 1,550-square-foot suites with 2,500-square-foot shop areas will be available for lease in Anderl Plaza under construction at 8512 N. Wayne Drive in Hayden. For information, contact Hayden Anderl at 208-964-0234.
• U-Haul Self-Storage will be at Seltice Way and Herborn in Post Falls.
• A new building under construction in Hayden is Lake Forest Interior Design (9245 Government Way).
• A commercial building with three suites is being constructed at 9041 N. Hess St. (just north of Walmart) in Hayden. The suites of 1,100 square feet each can contain retail or office places with easy access and visibility to U.S. 95. Contact Josh Beebe at Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty at 208-699-7980.
• The neighboring Anthem Corners project has one of the three suites leased with two units available. They can be combined for a 3,920-square-foot unit. Contact Joel Johnson of Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller at 208-771-6068.
• Spoon Junkie or Rogue Carnivore evidently will be a new place at 400 N. Fourth St.
• Sonja's Cleaner By Nature places will change to Lemondrop Laundry.
• Watch for Prime IV Hydration & Wellness to be in Ironwood Square.
• The PACR office building is under construction at 1857 W. Hayden Ave. All four commercial units are leased.
• A new pizza place will be in the former Syringa building on Fourth Street.
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Contact Hailey Hill at hhill@cdapress.com.
An Elise-Smith designed sign for the Class of 2024.
A custom graduation sign, designed by Elise Smith.
A custom teacher appreciation sign, designed by Elise Smith.