WHEATLAND — On Nov. 6, 2003, Genia Vineyard opened a holiday craft store in a little building next to the railroad tracks in Wheatland, Wyoming, so she and fellow crafters could make some money from Christmas shoppers for a season. When the new year came, Wheatland wouldn’t let her close. 

“Nobody would let me quit,” Vineyard recalls. “The whole town said, ‘You can’t quit this.’”

On November 4 and 5, Simply Creative Flowers, Fashion & Gifts will mark two decades of serving the 3,500 people of Wheatland and countless shoppers from beyond, drawn to the business that has grown into a general store to provide whatever its neighbors need. The annual holiday open house will include bakeshop cookies marked with “20” and other anniversary specials.

“I want to celebrate 20 years of being here,” she says. “I also want to celebrate my customers and my team members throughout the years and the bankers who were open to my wild ideas.” 

Vineyard added gifts and gift baskets when she moved to a historic building across the railroad tracks after about two years. She created a corner for a smoothies drink bar when the local mom-and-pop beverage shops shut down. One Mother’s Day, she collaborated with the florist across the alley on gift-flowers baskets; a year later, she bought the flower business and learned how to run it from the owner. 

“Then people started telling me there’s nowhere in town to buy clothes,” Vineyard says. She stocked one-size-fits-all items such as scarves at first, then bought the historic building next door and opened a women’s boutique with jeans, shoes, tops, leggings, socks, and other apparel in a wide range of sizes. 

The business has about 8,000 feet of retail space plus 2,000 feet of office and storage. Upstairs are a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom Airbnb. Vineyard hopes to add a garden for relaxing with smoothies in the back. She employs about 12 full- and part-time workers, with extras for the holidays. 

“The reason we’re here is to serve people,” Vineyard says. “We happen to be able to make a living out of it, too. We’re here to take care of our community Whatever our town needed and I felt like would do well, we just grew into it.”