Here’s an awesome write up on Holcomb Weddings in Lake Tapps Living magazine.
Story by Tiffany Elliott.
Sisters Callie Holcomb and Shelly Heck share a lot with their mother, Boots Swan, and each other. Both are creative, passionate women, who call Driftwood Point home.
“It’s really what ties us altogether,” Shelley said. “We’re all in sales, we’re all creative entrepreneurs and all of us are self- employed.”
Callie, the founder and owner of Holcomb Weddings & Events, a full service wedding and event planning company, has been at Driftwood Point the longest. She came to Lake Tapps by way of her husband and lifelong resident Erich. His parents, Jan and Grant Holcomb, were one of the Point’s rst residents.
“Our first date was jet skiing on the lake. I’m not kidding.” Callie shared.
A cultural anthropology and communications major from the University of Washington, Callie’s journey into wedding planning wasn’t as complex as one might think.
“Social cultural anthropology is about people and their traditions,” Callie said. “Customs like how people get married and why, for example, and it lends itself directly into wedding planning. There are two events in which people typically come together: weddings and funerals. I like to be there for the happy times when it’s about love and family.”
“My first wedding was in 2007, at Laurel Creek Manor in Sumner,” she continued. “Then, in 2010, I quit my nine to ve corporate job to pursue my passion for weddings and it’s just exploded ever since.”
For all entrepreneurs, passion is key, and Callie is no exception.
“I have a passion and a knack for weddings,” she said. “When you’re doing what you know you’re supposed to be doing, something that you absolutely love, you never go to work again. For me, I love my Mondays.”
Older sister, Shelley Heck, has the same passion. Originally from Alaska, Shelley is the owner of House of 3, an online Etsy shop she started in 2011. It has become known for her canvas art and the popular “Washington home grown” design in the Lake Tapps area. Although the “Home Grown” brand/ design has recently been sold to a retailer in Enumclaw, Shelley still creates the vintage sheet music and vintage map canvas signs that originally started her business. She stays busy creating when she is not working her full time job as a wine representative.
“I’m blessed to be able to have a full time job I love, selling wine – I mean, how can that not be fun?” Shelley shared. “And still have the opportunity to have a hobby that I’m passionate about on the side that has become our small family business for our little House of 3.”
“I grew up in a family that was not nearly as passionate as I am about creativity, so when I did meet Boots and Callie, the pieces came together,” she added. “Nature vs. Nurture is true on many levels.”
In fact, Shelley’s relocation to Driftwood Point, along with husband Brian and daughter McKenna, was all Callie’s doing.
“I was adopted at birth by a wonderful family. I reunited with Callie and Boots in 2008,” Shelley said. “I found them on Facebook and I didn’t meet her or Boots until 2009, the day we moved to Washington State. It truly is a wonderful story with lots of layers. The three of us had such a connection from the very beginning that today you would think we did grow up together.”
“When we moved out here from Wisconsin, we stayed with Callie and Erich for six weeks while looking for our own place,” she continued. “That was all the time we needed to fall in love with Driftwood Point. Brian and I knew we had to live here.”
In 2010, they were nally able to purchase a house on the Point and have been there ever since.
Both Shelley and Callie feel lucky to call Driftwood Point home.
“It’s the type of place where everybody knows everybody,” Callie said. “We even know the names of each other’s dogs, and other pets. It’s the type of neighborhood where you know where your kids are, even if they aren’t at your house. It’s one of those rare, close-knit neighborhoods you just don’t see around anymore. We all love it.”
Even Boots, who lives in Federal Way, feels welcome on Driftwood Point.
“I feel like I’m an honorary member of Driftwood Point,” she said.
“You are,” Callie replied.
Talking with Boots, it’s easy to see where her daughters get their creative entrepreneurial spirit from. A ne arts major at Southern Illinois University, she makes and sells jewelry and is a portrait painter. She specializes in murals of pets.
Another tie that holds Callie, Shelley and Boots together is family and tradition. They feel it’s just as important as the ladies’ risk-taking creative spirit.
“Family togetherness, tradition, that’s a big deal for us,” Boots said.
“Our summers are lled with sunset boat rides on the lake and backyard bon res in the summer,” Callie shared. “And in the winter, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we all go to a tree farm on Vashon Island and cut down our own tree.”
“It’s my favorite day of the year,” said Shelley.
“We all bring something,” Boots added. “Someone will bring a big old thing of soup, I’ll take some leftover turkey and we’ll all go out there. It’s a blast.”
“It started out small, but then it’s just gotten bigger and bigger as the years have gone on,” Callie shared.
Creativity, family and tradition. It’s what brought Boots, Shelley and Callie together, through time and distance, to Lake Tapps and Driftwood Point – a place that all three know and love.
“Everyone wants to live in our neighborhood,” Callie shared. “Everyone wants to move here, move back after being gone for a while or they just stay put forever. This place is special for all of us.”
MAY 2016
LAKE TAPPS Living
STORY BY TIFFANY ELLIOTT
PHOTOS BY KAREN WOLFE
RESIDENT FEATURE
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