Business Spotlight:
V & M Kreative Bath Systems

Are you looking for a solution to fixing up an old bathroom? V & M Kreative Bath Systems can help! Vernon Kuper, owner of V & M, installs acrylic walls and bathtub liners and waterproof block windows to remodel bathrooms, and does plumbing work, as well.

Vernon can come to your home to access the situation and measure the walls and tub area. He uses a special tool to determine the width, depth, and curves of your existing tub, and takes pictures to send to Luxury Bath. A brother-in-law and sister in Lincoln, NE, got Vernon and his wife, Mary, started in the business, which led to them buying a franchise of their own from Luxury Bath six years ago.

Vernon learned carpentry, electrical wiring and plumbing skills in classes taken at Springield College, and then taught those same skills to students at Wood High School and Sinte Gleska University in Rosebud, where he assisted in setting up a Vo-Tech program. He has always loved to fix and build things.

Mary does the bookkeeping for their home-based business, located north of the Lutheran Church at 360 Wessington Street South in Wessington. “I try to go with Vernon to the customer’s home when he does the estimate and measuring,” says Mary, who also works part time at the Wessington After School Program and the local grocery store. Previously, Mary was a special education teacher for 6 years in Woonsocket.

The couple says they have known each other since they were 12 years old, when Vernon’s family moved from Ree Heights to Wolsey, a mile north of where Mary’s family farmed. Married for 37 years, Vernon and Mary have three sons and a daughter, and really enjoy spending time with their six grandchildren.

An interesting tidbit of information, according to Mary, is that Vernon, while in the Navy on the USS Hornet, got to pick up the first men to go to the moon. During the time Vernon was in the Navy, the Kupers lived in Florida and California. “Our two oldest sons were born when he was in the Navy,” reminisced Mary. Since then, the family has lived in Ree Heights, Springfield, Wood, Woonsocket, and now have been in Wessington for nearly a year.

V & M Kreative Bath Systems usually has a display at area Farm & Home shows and the SD State Fair each year. They also get a lot of word-of-mouth business from satisfied customers. “We enjoy meeting new people. People that saw us two or three years ago have called to have their bathrooms done.” Vernon has completed a couple of remodeling jobs in the area, and references are available upon request.

When asked how the Wessington community can support their business efforts, Vernon and Mary’s reply was, “Tell people about it. Have us remodel your bathroom.” If you would like to see a sample of Vernon’s work, you can stop by to see the bathtub in their yard. For more information, you can check out the website at www.luxurybath.com or you can send an email to vmkbathsys@venturecomm.net. Locals can call 458-2606 and there is a toll free number, too: 1-888-458-BATH (2284).