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Especially in the times of COVID when we can’t congregate, people have a chance to see that it’s your birthday. They make people feel good and offer a fun way to celebrate. It’s a very good alternative to collecting.
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Natasha Pytlak (left) and Zach Smith run Letter the Lawn, a lawn exhibition service that creates custom messages to celebrate special occasions. Photo taken in Saskatoon, SK on Friday February 26, 2021. Photo by Matt Smith /.Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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New businesses and nonprofits are opening and moving regularly in Saskatoon. Today StarPhoenix is speaking to Zach Smith, who opened Letter the Lawn in November.
As the company name suggests, his service places individual letters with congratulatory messages on customers’ lawns to celebrate and allow anyone who sees the signs to have a special occasion. During the COVID-19 era, it is a service that brings joy to people and helps ensure that the celebrations continue despite the restrictions.
Q: Can you explain how Letter the Lawn works?
A: We set up displays on people’s lawns with large, two-foot tall letters that say Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary or It’s a Boy, It’s a Girl, whatever the customer wants. We can also customize orders and spell names to say Happy Birthday Bobby or John’s 60th birthday. And we have different pictures that complement the lettering that we put on the lawn. If I got a birthday message out, I could bring out pictures of confetti, smileys, champagne bottles popping out, beer mugs, balloons, and birthday cakes. I have a lot of pictures to do with birthdays and celebrations.
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The display is very large – it can be 10 or 20 feet long, and it just looks really appealing and lets people know it’s your birthday or a celebration. And especially in the times of COVID, when we cannot deal with all these restrictions at the moment, people have the opportunity to see that it is your birthday. It makes people feel good and offers a fun way to celebrate. It’s a very good alternative to collecting. If people know it’s little Johnny’s third birthday and we set up a display, he’ll get some birthday attention from people in the community, people in the family who can drive by and honk their horn while he looks in the window . It adds a nice effect.
Natasha Pytlak (left) and Zach Smith run Letter the Lawn, a lawn exhibition service that creates custom messages to celebrate special occasions. Photo by Matt Smith /.Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Q: How do people order congratulatory messages for their lawn?
A: Our business is online. Customers can order their product through our website at www.letterthelawn.ca. We have many products in happy birthdays, happy anniversaries, newborns, anything that is celebrated.
Q: When do you drop off and pick up your lawn displays?
A: In most cases, the display is set up between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and picked up at the end of the day between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. So after all is said and done, the customer typically has the lawn display for about 12-14 hours, if not longer. And we are also very flexible. If an organization registers around 1 p.m. in the afternoon and needs a sign, we’ll definitely record it. This is not a problem.
Q: Was the pandemic one of the reasons you started Letter the Lawn?
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A: Absolutely. I did research online and came across various companies that have opened up in the US and the rest of Canada. I noticed that people started these companies to make a positive difference during the pandemic. And I thought it was a great idea, and I wanted to share that with the Saskatoon community and the surrounding area too.
Q: What makes you different from the competition?
A: We’ll focus on the lettering and spelling of the name and add that extra customization. The way we structure business is newer, more modern and no one on the prairie does that. There are companies in Ontario and British Columbia and the US that are very similar to us, but when it comes to competition in this area, there is no one specifically doing what we do. As for flamingos and crows and that kind of business, they do exist, but that’s more like the old school kind of thing. We look a little different.
Q: Can you put lawns in condos, apartment buildings, or public places?
A: We can. The only thing would be, we just have to get permission from the apartment (board) itself. Once we have their permission, that’s no problem at all. We can also set up retirement homes or public places where people may need a little encouragement – we just need to get permission from that retirement home or hospital, but we can certainly put them entirely on the lawn.
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Q: Do you put lawn displays outside of Saskatoon?
A: We ship in and around Saskatoon (including Warman, Dalmeny, Dundurn, Vanscoy, Aberdeen, Asquith and others). I also have a gentleman who helps me with Prince Albert and the surrounding area, and I have another lady who will be starting Regina in the next few months.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Letter the lawn
Owner: Zach Smith & Natasha Pytlak
Hours: Monday to Sunday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Phone: 306-934-5296
E-mail:[email protected]
Website:www.letterthelawn.ca
Check:Facebook, Instagram
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Did you recently start or move a new business or nonprofit in Saskatoon? We want to hear your story. Please send an email to [email protected].
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