Here are just some of the things are customers think about our products and service. We love to here from our customers, so please email us and tell us how you like your products. You may find yourself up on this page.
These sandals are beautiful. -sroman2006
Absolutely beautiful! The picture doesn't do the flip flops justice! Thanks!!! -katiepooh81
Perfect custom flip flops! Great communication-thanks for all your help & patience. -whippetgreat
Excellent service! They are so cute & comfortable. Perfect for my wedding day! -jlape22
Beautiful! A big hit! -fourmommy17
These are the most beautiful things!!! Pictures don't do them justice - LOVE IT! -soupie0903
Beautiful! Will buy again and again. -starbright1211
Flip flops are absolutely gorgeous and arrived promptly in beautiful packaging too. -4764jos
Business Born From a Passion for Weddings
By Robert C. Pollack
Record-Journal staff
SOUTHINGTON
-Knot the Ordinary is anything but. The wedding accessory company - owned
and operated by Southington High School teacher Janice Sullivan out of her
spacious, farmhouse colonial home at 95 Winding Ridge Road - is dedicated
to "the details - all those little things that make your wedding day
special," she said.
More than two years ago, Sullivan said her daughter, Meredith, and her fiancée "made me a very happy mom by letting me help with plans for their big day." Distance, she explained, was a big factor, since the couple was going to live in Maryland, she lives in Southington and the wedding was in Rhode Island. "We spent lots of time and money and through trial and error, put together a lovely and spectacular wedding." Sullivan said that was how she found her passion - "helping brides-to-be have a spectacular wedding day without all the stress that comes from trying to get everything done alone." Her son Michael, she said, came up with the name "Knot the Ordinary" and a new company was born.
"My company does
so many of these things the bride would do, if she had time; her mom would
do if she was nearby; and friends would do, if they weren't so busy,"
she said.
"That where we come in." Among a long array of wedding accessories
she supplies are custom wedding favors packaging, reception rest room baskets
and hotel welcome bags. Sullivan said she also provides "comfortable
white wedding reception sneakers and flip flops" that she describes as
"pretty enough to wear the whole day." These, she said, can be produced
for an entire wedding party.
Alyna Perillo, owner of the Tips to Toes body salon on Center Street - who married Economic Development Coordinator Lou Perillo last October - said she put her entire wedding "in Janice's hands." "I just didn't have time to do all the legwork and take care of all the details.
She did it all and I can't say enough good things about her." One good thing her clients do say is that the chex mix white chocolate concoction she puts in many of her favor wedding bags are, as Perillo described, "out of this world." Sullivan, married for 32 years to CPA Frank Sullivan, said without her husband's support, her part-time business could have never gotten off the ground. "He is my money man and has been very supportive," she said.
"She did a great job on my daughter's wedding and bridal shower last December," said Southington resident Terri Carmody. "Planning your daughter's wedding is one of life's most hectic experiences; it leaves you frazzled because you want everything to be perfect. "Janice took a lot of that stress away. I would recommend her to anyone getting married. She had the most creative ideas for favors; the baskets she provided in the rest rooms at the Aqua Turf club - where we held the reception - had everything imaginable a wedding guest would need, from a needle and thread to aspirin to extra pantyhose to mints. The list went on forever. "She took care of a lot of the small details I just didn't have time for. She also provided baskets for all our hotel guests.
"And for my daughter Amy's wedding day, she made the most beautiful wedding sneakers for the reception that I have ever seen. Amy took off her wedding shoes to wear them so she could enjoy the rest of the day in comfort." Sullivan, who grew up in Rhode Island, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics at the University of Rhode Island and a master's degree in elementary education at Central Connecticut State University. She has been teaching at Southington High School and before that at De Paolo Middle School and Thalberg School for the past 24 years.
"I love teaching, but I am going to retire in six years and wanted to find something to do I love after that. There is no question I have found it," she said.
In the past year, Sullivan has served 10 different clients and says she charges from $800 to $1,000 per wedding for her services, depending on the demands on her time and what she supplies.
"It is a very creative job," she said.
