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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 14, 2019     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 14, 2019
 
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i: "i Page A-2 - She/ton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Feb, 14, 201/9" Bob Paradis, left, and Landon McAIlister, sold albums and T-shirts at sepa- rate booths at the Olympia Flea Market. When themarket closed, the two decided to join together as one business, Bobland, in downtown Shelton. Journal photo by Gordon Weeks www.pcfcu.org/credit-ca rds 360.426.1601 Your New Roof for as low as SlOO per month O.A.C.* Your Full Service Roofer Since 1959 , Year-Round ONE DAY Services in most cases " 24 hour EMERGENCY services available COMPLETE roofing services for all your residential; commercial and industrial j ,j r" -1 ,Need aro0f?I I Cheese your own I I special offer! I -- Either- I Low Interest I I Financing O.A.C.* I -roofing needs . I -- Or-- I Lifetime Product WARRANTIES available Composition, metal, shakes, tile, flat roofs, I 10% Cash I windows and decks- we do it all! I, Back Bonus* I May not be combined with any other offers I - Professional job site cleanupon all projects I or discounts. Ask your local representative for details. Financing available on approval of I credit. Offers expire 2128/2019. I FREE ESTIMATE/ L . Licensed and Bonded ROOFDPI68N8 1131 W. Kamilche Lane Ais0 Serving: Olympia Lacey Tumwater Tenino Yelm Tacoma Montesano Aberdeen McKenna Gig Harbor Centralia Chehalis Longview Vancouver Roy ~o By Gordon Weeks gordon@masoncoun cam Bob Paradis and Landon McAllister struck up a friendship while selling al- bums and T-shirts, respectively, at the Olympia Flea Market. But homeless people congregating in the downtown area were routinely leaving feces in front of the market on Thurston Avenue. "It got disgustingly horrible," Para- dis recalled. He added, "The public didn't feel good about going there." With the market closing in Septem- ber, McAllister made a proposition: why not join forces and found a store together in downtown Shelton? "The timing seemed to be right,"- Paradis said. %Ve shook hands and went for it," McAllister said. The result is the birth of Bobland on West Railroad Avenue near First Street, an eclectic and colorful shop offering thousands of records, racks of colorful clothes, and pop culture figu- rines. About 20 percent of the prints are McAllister's designs. "Records, T-shirts and collectibles all gel," McAllister said. Paradis calls himself "a natural wheeler dealer," but adds, "I had no dream I'd ever have a record store." He said he is shocked teens are coming in to check out the vinyl, which fell out of favor with the advent of compact discs in the early 1980s, but is now enjoying a resurgence of popularity. Paradis was born in Massachusetts, but his parents moved to England when he was 6; he considers himself British. Paradis was living in East Anglia, home to two large U.S. Air Force bas- es. That's where he met his wife, who brought him to California in 1985. Paradis discovered British motor- cycles are plentiful and inexpensive in California. Thus began a 42-year career saving, salvaging and selling them. Jay Leno was one of his clients. But Paradis said online sales took away much of his business, plus he was getting bored. "I got tired of being filthy dirty all the time," Paradis said. In 2011, he lost his motorcycle business and his house. Paradis has been collecting records since childhood, much of it "off the main drag music," including about 6,000 45s. He signed upfor a booth at the Olympia Flea Market "I found there was enough of us old collectors were out there," Paradis said. "It was just like when I was doing the motorcycles," he added. ' rou meet fascinating people." That's where he first encountered McAllister, a 2000 Olympic High School graduate who earned a Bach- elor of Fine Arts degree at Central Washington University in 2004. "A college degree got me a job as a pizza maker," he recalled with a laugh. But McAllister soon found a way to channel his talents as a screen printer at 'Bud Bay Embroidery and All-Pro Screen Printing inLacy, "Those were the two companies that got me into the trade," he said. Four years ago, McAlister started a screen-printing business in the back of a Seattle skateboard shop. Two years ago, he started his Land O Tees busi- ness in the South Park area of Seattle. At the same time, he was selling his wares at flea markets. He plans to add screen-printing to Bobland. Growing up in Olympia, McAllister said he had regarded Shelton as "red- neck" town without culture. But he said he felt naturally drawn to casting his fortune in downtown Shelton. "I wanted to prove there is cu!ture out here and great-spirited people," McAllister said. The customers range in age from teenagers to people in their 80s. "The town has really embraced it," Paradis said. +