Meghann Rise

For someone looking for a creative outlet and a fun way to capture meaningful memories, the new Journals of the Heart store in Brookings can fill that desire. Opened by Carol Jung in June of this year, Journals of the Heart is a scrapbooking store filled with creativity, warmth and not to mention, plenty of ribbons and stamps.

For Jung, scrapbooking was always important but became more than a hobby when she brought her first daughter back from China. It was then that Jung decided scrapbooking held more meaning. She made her first daughter a scrapbook of the events leading to her induction into the Jung family.

“I wanted to be sure that Molly had the information of how, when and why she was brought into our family,” said Jung. “It reinforces that we love her and that we care enough to try to make her life as whole as possible.”

For SDSU senior Meghan Larson, scrapbooking has also played a role in her life. She started scrapbooking after a big trip to New York in high school.

“Scrapbooking is a fun and artistic way to preserve memories from important events in my life,” she said.

Because every person holds certain memories close to them, scrapbooking is an activity for all ages and personalities. It is Jung’s goal to integrate these memories with fun and creative artistic expression.

“Each person has memories that are important to document, and it is fun to sit down with pictures and paper and make those memories into documents that will be a legacy for future generations,” Jung said.

“College students often don’t think that they have anything to remember about college, but if you look at the friends and activities that you take part in, this will be the only time in your lives that this will happen.”

Jung’s store offers a variety of services and products. In her store, one can find the basic scrapbooking essentials, as well as items for card making and stamping. As for services, Jung can scan customers’ ancestral photos and put them into permanent media for future use.

“We have also seen brides-to-be that are interested in making their weddings unique by making their own invitations and other paper products for their special days,” Jung said.

Apart from scrapbooks and decorations, Jung has decided to offer classes. These vary from the basics of scrapbooking to creating greeting cards and mini-scrapbooks.

Jung said scrapbooking classes are about more than arts and crafts; they also offer camaraderie and companionship.

“One of the benefits that we have found is the fellowship that is gained through small classes of people with like-minded activities and projects,” Jung said. “You can learn a lot about people through the pictures that they put into their scrapbooks and their stories that they share.”

Even college students are interested in taking classes.

“I would definitely like to take more classes dedicated to scrapbooking and will definitely use the store in town,” said Kelsea Hotvet, a sophomore who has been scrapbooking since she was 14.

Customers say the Brookings location is beneficial because the nearest scrapbooking store is either in Sioux Falls or Watertown.

“It is much more convenient for me to stop into the store here in town than to run all the way to Sioux Falls just for one thing,” Hotvet said.

Larson agreed. “I think it is good to have a store here, because I don’t like to buy stuff online because it can be misleading.”

For the future, Jung just plans to keep her store open.

“I often hear that the first year is always the hardest and to hang in there,” said Jung. “That, right now, is the plan for the near future.”