Meet Amanda Litz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Litz. 

Amanda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m the owner of O’Flynn’s Art Gallery & Craft Shoppe. Being more of a wordsmith than an artist, you can find my children’s books in the shoppe, among many amazing local artworks and craft items. 

I created O’Flynn’s as a way to give back to the community that I love. Having moved around a lot in my life, living in almost 20 different homes across 5 states, Cedar Springs has been the first place to truly feel like home, and I cherish the connections that I’ve have made here. They inspired me to put down roots and create something bigger than myself. 

O’Flynn’s was designed as a place for the community to come together for public and private gatherings, fun and creative classes, and to be a platform to share their passions and creations with all that enter. Everything in there is created by local artists or artisans. It is a truly unique shoppe with an inviting and wonderful atmosphere, mostly due to the amazing associates I work with who are the face and heart of O’Flynn’s! You will rarely see me there as I do all the background duties necessary to make the business run, but you will hear my voice if you call because the business number is just my personal cell; I have to save money wherever I can. O’Flynn’s is a project of the heart, so making money is a distant second to the joy of those we touch in our journey! 

I have taken many paths before creating O’Flynn’s. I spent a couple years in the Air Force as a linguist, went to college and got a double major in Criminal Justice and International Studies with a focus on Military Intelligence, interned in the Victim Witness Assistance Program in the Fairborn prosecutor’s office in Ohio, married, divorced, and married again, have raised four children (still raising two of them), ran a publishing company while writing children’s books, owned a new and used bookstore on Main St. named after my publishing company ‘Traveler’s Trunk,’ and ran a teen program out of the Cedar Springs Public Library, among other things. 

I live on the border of Sparta and Cedar Springs on twenty acres with my husband, two younger children, dog, and several pole barn cats, and next door to my parents. I look forward to a long and happy life as part of the Cedar Springs community and can’t wait to see how O’Flynn’s grows and changes to better serve the community! 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth process as I tried to figure out exactly what the business model was going to be since making money was not my first priority. 

After much time searching for the right person to help me get O’Flynn’s off the ground, we opened in late October 2019, three weeks after my goal of being ready by our city’s Red Flannel Festival which is a huge event that brings in thousands of people and we lost that great exposure opportunity that I was hoping for. 

Then Covid hit and O’Flynn’s was shut down for several months in early 2020. My manager at the time quit and I had to find someone else to help us reopen in the early summer. It was a little overwhelming for her to step into the position and she only stayed a few months, but she did introduce me to another lady, Aprille, who helped to get O’Flynn’s back up and running until, and through, the next Covid shut down. If it wasn’t for Aprille, I think I would have given up. We’ve had a handful of other people come and go at O’Flynn’s, but Aprille is still with us today helping to make O’Flynn’s an asset to our community. I’m thankful for her every day. 

2020 and early 2021 were difficult times to keep O’Flynn’s going. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage it and I wouldn’t have been able to on my own. It’s only with the help of others who believed in O’Flynn’s mission as much as I did that we persevered. We reinvented ourselves a couple of times throughout 2021 and early 2022 as we adjusted to the post-Covid needs of the community and brought on another lady, Mallory, whose passion for O’Flynn’s mission continues to drive us in new and better directions for the community. 

Now the three of us share a bright and hopeful vision for the future of O’Flynn’s. We work towards this vision with the help of several others. Everything that O’Flynn’s has accomplished and become is only possible through the connections we have made along the way. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I don’t specialize in anything in particular. I’m more of the big picture person, putting out the overarching ideas and goals. I came up with the idea for O’Flynn’s and did what was needed to get it started, but it continues to run and be an asset to our city because of the people I surround myself with. 

I work with my team of associates who each specialize in a different part of O’Flynn’s to make it a welcoming and beneficial place for people in the community to come to and use. Aprille is our Vendor and Artist coordinator, working with local artists and artisans to bring in unique and quality handcrafted items for the community to appreciate and buy. Mallory is our Events coordinator, running her own classes, plus working with other local businesses and entrepreneurs to create fun and interesting events for the locals to enjoy such as our Artist Meet & Greet, Young Entrepreneur’s Day, Holistic Healing Expo, and many more. Frank, the newest member of our team of associates, is our social media coordinator creating informative and artistic posts to share information about O’Flynn’s with the surrounding areas. 

I also do everything that is needed that doesn’t fall under another associate’s specialty. So, I do the finances, work with our tax person, set up any services the business needs, work with the property manager, do customer service, track inventory, create necessary spreadsheets, handle the pay, help the other associates with overflow work, manage our rentals, run our business meetings, and the list goes on. I do anything necessary to keep O’Flynn’s going and growing that one of our other associates is not already doing. 

I am most proud of the O’Flynn’s team, those that work directly for O’Flynn’s and those that help do things to bring awareness about O’Flynn’s to the local community. I work with a great group of people that make me feel grateful every day to have them in my life. The only thing that sets me apart is that I am the creator and owner of O’Flynn’s, but we all need each other’s help and cooperation to keep it going. 

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My advice for those just starting out is to take it slow and find the best people to work with that balance out your strengths and weaknesses. A good team, loyal to each other and the mission, makes a more enjoyable and successful path to travel. Don’t try to do it all on your own. 

Pricing:

• We provide quality art and handcrafted items ranging from $1 to $1000. There is something for everyone and we are constantly changing out our items to keep it new and fresh.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.oflynnsshoppe.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oflynns_shoppe/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OFlynnsGalleryandShoppe
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJeye4boNQjENpp1W9HxNKQ