About

Dear Customer,

Teachers’ School Supply started when I realized how unhappy I was in my job.  So my lovely and talented wife, Andrea, and I started Teachers’ School Supply in our Los Angeles garage in April, 1987.  It was a risky thing to do at the time, since I had a house payment due and tons of bills.  But I just wasn’t happy at the corporation, and Andrea supported my decision.

It was rough going at first – especially for Andrea.  She worked as a bookkeeper for an architect during the day (riding her bike 5 miles each way through L.A.’s busy streets), then coming home and doing our books till late at night.  We sold mostly crayons, pens and markers in the early days.  It was all we could afford.  For my part, I called customers, typed the invoices, picked up the supplies from our wholesaler, packed them, and made out the UPS labels.  Our kids, Nadine and Cory, were great.  The biggest help they gave us was sitting on our laps or pulling us out of the office to play so we could remember why we were working so hard in the first place.

One day we had a break-in that almost ruined us. (I knew I should have locked that door!)  Somehow we survived. But we were still small potatoes.  Then my wife brought home some information that changed everything.  One of the clients at her architectural firm was bidding school furniture.  I had never sold a chair or desk in my life, but we filled out the bid form and took a shot.  And we won!  (Low overhead does it every time).

In time we outgrew the garage and took over part of the house, then the house next door.  (I hate to commute!)   We hired some extra help and Andrea was able to quit the architecture job and work side by side with me.  (Sure was nice to be able to look across my desk at her all day long!)  In time, we became one of the largest school furniture suppliers in California, even winning a statewide bid to supply all the furniture to State of California Government Offices.

In 1991, we decided to move to Washington State.  This was a scary time for us.  Would you, our customers, remain loyal?  I was so scared that as the moving van cleaned out all our furniture, I stayed behind, calling every last customer I could – sitting on the floor of our empty house.

But things worked out well in Washington.  Instead of operating out of our home and the house next door, we even got an office, and grew to a multi-million dollar corporation .  You stayed loyal to us.  I guess you like the personal service you get from a family-run business no matter where we are.

As some of you know, Andrea is now following her dream.  In 1995, with only a high school diploma in hand, she went back to school to become an M.D. In 2008, at the age of 58, she became a board-certified family practice doctor treating people in areas where there isn’t much access to medical care.  But she still keeps a sharp eye on the business, scrutinizing our financial statements, and making sure our customers and employees are happy.

So, that’s our story – so far.  We’d love for you to share yours, if you want to.

Until then, it’s our pleasure serving you.  Please let us know if we can do anything more to make your shopping experience better.

Sincerely,

Andrea Opalenik                  Richard Lasser
Chief Executive Officer          President