YOLO Spotlight - John and Beverly Littau of Envision It!
John and Beverly Littau have been quite busy since they moved to Woodland! Ministering, fostering, adopting, opening a business, with that kind of schedule we are lucky they were able to take a few moments to speak to us for the YOLO Spotlight.
Envision It! Is a local engraver/signage producer/pretty much anything you need personalized type of place. While John has been doing engraving for decades, they opened the shop in Woodland in October 2019, little realizing a pandemic was right around the corner. With his expertise, John has found himself engraving a variety of items, even pumpkin pies and watermelons, though retirement and wedding gifts are some of his more typical items.
Envision It can be found tucked into a corner (Suite 102) at 825 East Street in Woodland. KLJ Studios actually first encountered John when we went there to purchase face shields to use doing photography sessions in the studio last year. Chatting with John turned out to be so much fun, and we discovered the two of them had a great story to tell, so we knew John and Beverly would make a great Spotlight.
FUN FACT #1
While John grew up in Sunnyvale and Beverly in the San Fernando Valley, they met at Vanguard University in Cost Mesa, California. It was a mutual attraction and they dated for a few years before they became engaged and then decided to get married a mere 10 weeks after getting engaged. They were able to pull off a 250 guest wedding in 10 weeks. (Let that sink in.) The two have been in ministry most of their lives. They lived in Fremont and moved to Woodland when a position opened up at a church here in 1995. He pastored at The Sanctuary for 25 years, but is gradually phasing out his role. The church has merged with an Hispanic church and now offers bilingual services.
FUN FACT #2
John and Beverly have a daughter in Texas, a son in Pennsylvania, and another son in Redding. They also have 11 grandchildren. But the big news is that they recently added to their family by fostering two young sisters, and then adopting them in June 2021. John explained they have always had an interest in fostering kids, their daughter is also a foster parent, but didn’t think they would ever adopt. But after having the two girls for several years, adopting seemed like the natural progression. They want the girls to have a stable, loving home and feel they can offer them the best.
FUN FACT #3
As every parent knows, raising children can be difficult even when things are perfect, but we all know that 2020 was far from perfect. Juggling home life, parenting, and owning a small business during a pandemic became quite the challenge for John and Beverly, as well as most parents worldwide. While they welcomed the time spent with the girls at home, the day care they used shut down and they took turns staying home and babysitting. A few times they were able to take the girls to the store and set up an area for them to play. John and Beverly also found themselves trying to get caught up on work at night after the girls were in bed.
And what’s going on at the store?
1. John also had an engraving business in the Bay area in Fremont for many years and is self taught. He has good artistic instincts and obviously is quite creative (who else can engrave fruit?). He can also create signs and help with wood and glass items. COVID19 certainly changed the business without retirement parties or large weddings requiring personalized gifts.
2. However, when, in May 2020, a customer asked if he worked with acrylic, a new phase of business was born. Envision It made it through the past year by making many of the acrylic shields businesses use to separate employees from customers, helping them to follow COVID guidelines and allowing the businesses to remain open throughout the pandemic. John has been busy making acrylic shields for desks, countertops, whatever was needed for businesses all the way from Orange County to Redding. And, as mentioned before, he was also a source for face shields, useful for those businesses who work more closely with their customers.
3. For a couple who have taken on a small business, two young girls, and still keep up with some ministering, John and Beverly have been able to keep active, stay positive, and get creative to keep their business alive during a rough year.
When asked what they do to wind down, they laughed. “Wind down with kids?” was the response. And, yeah, we’ve all been there.