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Mary, Keith and Katie Kempton of Oracle
Kempton’s Korner in Oracle has been open since September 2016. The store is owned and operated by Mary, Keith and Katie Kempton of Oracle. Mary is the daughter of Fred Creeley from San Manuel. This eclectic store has a large variety of items to choose from. Their slogan is “something for everyone” and this store offers that. They have a sports, kids, art & jewelry and western sections.
Kempton’s Corner offers refurbished furniture, antiques, custom gift items, art and handcrafted items for sale. The items in the store reflect about 90 percent art and hand-made crafts and 10 percent antiques. Keith does woodwork, furniture making, and carpentry. He is also an artist and his paintings are for sale in the store. Keith said they started out selling furniture on the side of the road in Tucson.
Mary sews, makes magnets and coasters.
“We try very hard to make our items unique and one of a kind,” said Mary. “We work hard and enjoy what we do.”
Signs at Kempton’s Korner.
Katie does the signage. They make customized signs for your business, home or for gifts. They can customize just about any items to show your pride and interest in your chosen careers, hobbies, sports teams or anything you can think of.
They have a Kid’s Corner that has numerous items including pictures of children’s favorite characters like Mickey Mouse, Spiderman, Teenage Mutant Ninjas, etc., that are great for decorating kids’ rooms. They can personalize anything from key rings, candle holders, glasses, magnets, coasters, tiles to decorative signs. They have even made a wooden briefcase for a customer.
They sell home-made jams, jellies, soup mixes, walking sticks, scarves, hats, wine glasses, outdoor and indoor furniture, lamps, knick knacks and more. A Patriots & Heroes corner has patriotic items that honor the flag, veterans, the military, policemen, first responders and firefighter. They have handmade jewelry, pottery, clay mugs and art from local artists.
“We try to promote local artists,” said Keith.
They take artwork on consignment and add very little mark up to the price.
“We take a lot of pride in selling other people’s art work,” he added.
They are always looking for art from local artists.
The family says that they could have not done it without the community who have supported the business and provided items for sale. They are thankful for people who have donated old wood for them to recycle into furniture and signs.
“Their trash is our treasure,” Mary said. “We couldn’t run this business without the community. They have helped out quite a bit.”
Items at Kempton’s Korner.
The Kemptons are very community oriented and believe in giving back to the community. They are supporting the Mt. Vista Football Team. A lot of their customers are from SaddleBrooke and Tucson. They are getting ready to do online sales to expand the business and hopefully will have a website available in October.
Kempton’s Korner is excited about Christmas and are already getting custom orders. They urge the public to order early if you want a personally customized item ready for the Christmas holiday. The store will be putting up their Christmas Village for the public to enjoy while they are shopping.
Kempton’s Korner is open six days a week Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and are closed on Mondays. They are located at 1285 W. American Ave. in Oracle. You can contact them via Email: kemptonskorner@yahoo.com or call 716-913- 8075. You can also find them on Facebook.
Items at Kempton’s Korner.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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