Debra Lupien Denny, a freelance writer, and LeeAnne Lupien, a freelance photographer, recently joined the family business and said they are excited about helping their mother take it to the next level.

“When Dad died in 2011, my sister, Lee, my brother, Jim, who is an experienced engraver, and myself all stepped in to help Mom keep up with the business as best we could in between our own jobs,” Debra said. “Mom had been contemplating selling the business until my sister and I told her how much we wanted to join forces with her and continue the family business.”

It was not just how much they enjoyed learning the craft, she explained, but how much they found they loved working with their mother.

Lupien’s currently operates at 139 E. Third St. and has been there since 1998, when Donna and Bill closed their gift store downtown. This move allowed them to shift their focus more to the awards and engraving side of the business and to expand their services to include sublimation, a heat transfer process which allowed them to offer more options for personalized awards and gift items. This past year, the three women have been busy expanding once more.

“Thanks to a grant from the Workforce Development Institute, we recently purchased a laser engraver, allowing us to expand our array of services, such as glass, acrylic and wood engraving,” Donna said. “While the girls are busy with the engraving and custom personalization side of the business, I am now able to start growing the promotions side of it. I don’t think a lot of our clients even know we do that and since I have been able to get the word out, our promotional sales have really started to take off.”

To help with the expansion and to increase their reach, Lupien’s enlisted the talent at I Heart Corp., in Oswego to build them their first website, LupiensGiftsAndEngraving.com, which launches this week. “Using local resources (like I Heart Corp.) for our own business need helps to keep the Oswego economy strong and we’re all about that,” Debra said.

Donna said in the past, word-of-mouth has always been the backbone of their advertising and is what has built Lupien’s Gifts and Engraving to what it is today.

“We pride ourselves on our personal service and attention to detail,” she said. “Whether it is an award for a sporting event or a personalized gift that makes a statement, we understand how important it is to help our customers find the perfect words to express their exact sentiment.”

The women said they are excited about the opportunities the website will provide their business, not only serve to enhance their client base, but to enlighten their current customers as to all that Lupien’s Gifts and Engraving can do for them.

“We are known in Central New York not just for the high-quality of our work, but also for our extremely personal service and great prices,” Donna said. “I am thrilled that my daughters want to continue Lupien’s Gifts and Engraving and can’t wait to see how far they take it.”

In addition to the website, Lupien’s can also be reached at 315-342-6326 or on Facebook.