Dreams Really Do Come True

Left to right, Francine Abbott, Mable Abbott, Marlene Robershaw, Marylin Palmer

by Marlene Robershaw

Francine Abbott’s dream of owning her own business has come true in a really big way.

A creative talent with crafts prompted Abbott to start a small home venture in 1997 called Franco Marketing, which has grown into a successful business offering a unique product sold in seven Western states and soon to be seen across the country.

Franco Marketing creates, sells, and distributes one-of-a-kind, personalized, custom photo mats with frames. The mats are created with hand cutters and computerized equipment.

To help handle the volume of orders, Abbott has three employees on staff: Ramona residents Cary Clemmons and John Seabold and cousin Cece Murrillo. The workers cut out names or designs on the acid-free mats, and the customer then places photos behind the mats, making a beautiful display for hanging.

Customers may choose among 32 mat colors and five different frames. The most popular photo-mat requests are the categories of Grandkids, Weddings (with bells), Families are Forever, Family Memories, The River, Soccer, and all other sports.

The business is also available for any mat requests for customers’ own frames. Also offered is a shrink-wrap service that preserves the valuable photos on the mats.

Franco photo mats are sold at Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks and soon to be in all U.S. National Parks. The mats are also sold at 16 Hallmark stores, the Angels and Diamond-backs Major League Baseball gift stores, and locally at the Ramona Pharmacy. She has also signed up with the Pro-Bass Shops nation wide. The marketing company also has distributorships that are thriving for both client and company.

Abbott and her parents, Raymond and Mabel Abbott, and brother, Jerry, moved in 1959 to Ramona from Lakeside. They bought a chicken ranch on Highway 78, which they ran for four years, then relocated in Ramona after health reasons made it necessary to sell the ranch.

The family members all remained in Ramona, including sister Madelyn Holmquist and brother-in-law James Holmquist, and sister-in-law Karolyn Abbott. Raymond Abbott was very involved in the beginning of Francine’s business until he died in 2000. The Abbott family was one of the first to be part of Grace Community Church at its beginning in 1963.

Francine Abbott graduated from Ramona High School, worked as an assistant physical therapist for A.J. Isaac Corp. in Van Nuys, then as a customer courtesy clerk at Lucky Market while doing marketing for the Nabisco Co.

At Lucky, she met Cary Clemmons, a sales representative for Anheuser-Busch, and they eventually put their knowledge of business and marketing together.

Abbott is quick to point out that “when you start a small business as I did, you should put all your profits back into the business until it is successful.

“I never borrowed money for the business or lived on the profit until it was financially sound,” she said. “From 1997 to 2003, it was a small, struggling business and now it has really taken off.

“For years, we went to all the country fairs, street fairs and harvest festivals across the Western U.S.; we made a lot of good contacts, and it paid off. I never imagined the business could grow to this extent. God has really blessed us.”

At the Los Angeles County Fair 1996, Franco Marketing won first prize for “Best Overall Product and Display” and at the California Mid-State Fair 1996 in Paso Robles, it was awarded second prize for the top honor of “Product and Display.”

For information about her company, photo mats, or distributorships, call Abbott at (760) 788-7585.