{"57584":{"#nid":"57584","#data":{"type":"news","title":"UP CLOSE \/ DAVID P. TOUWSMA, chief executive officer, Limetree: Shops a family gift","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAtlanta Journal-Constitution\u003C\/em\u003E - August 17, 2008\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf you ask David Touwsma about the key to his success in the retail business, he\u0027ll say go into business with your wife and mother. That\u0027s what Touwsma, 35, did four years ago when he and the two women founded Limetree, \u0022a gift experience.\u0022 . . Q: How did an industrial engineering grad from Georgia Tech decide to go into retail? A: I was in the technology business, working for Accenture and other companies as a consultant. For 20 years, my mom and dad owned the Vista Grove Hardware and Gift shop in Northeast Atlanta. My mom didn\u0027t want to open additional locations, but she said she would sell purses on Peachtree Street if she could do anything else. That was the springboard.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ajc.com\/business\/content\/printedition\/2008\/08\/17\/upclose.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.ajc.com\/business\/content\/printedition\/2008\/08\/17\/upclose.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27279","created_gmt":"2008-08-18 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:29","author":"Barbara Christopher","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2008-08-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2008-08-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"57458","name":"ISyE External News"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=bt3\u0022\u003EContact Barbara Christopher\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}