"Several years ago, I bought it [a lampshade from Prince's Chanhassen home] from our friend Annette Hentz at Carver Flowers, who had it in the shop to sell for her former brother-in-law. He got the shade when cleaning out some things for Prince, who he did work for. It might have been about the time Prince demolished his Chanhassen mansion."

— John von Walter, Carver

EMPLOYED BY A PRINCE

"I feel very fortunate that I spent the last couple of years working for Prince at Paisley Park. I started out thinking the music business was going to be easy. That was not the case. It's quite a bit of work, but well worth the effort.

"When people came to Paisley they'd sometimes ask what I do there. My answer was everything except share the stage with him. It would've been cool to one day play guitar with him, but it is what it is.

"I did however set up his equipment, clean his bathroom, hauled out his trash, washed his dishes, and anything else that needed to be done. I absolutely love who Prince was as a person and it's sad that we've lost such a great musician. The guitars, cars, and studios were amazing. Downstairs is his mysterious vault, and unfortunately, across from the vault is the elevator in which he was found. I've used that elevator several times to either go up to the offices or down to the cars below and it breaks my heart to think of him laying in there dead.

"I know he suggested to be successful you have to not care what the crowd is doing and just be good at what you love. Be different and go against the grain. Don't look too far into the future or dwell in the past because you'll miss right now.

"Prince had vision and was able to take his dream and turn it into reality. The fans were great and I see they've put some purple flowers on the fence paying their respects. I'm sure he'd be thankful.

"The last memory I have of Prince is the night Madonna stopped by a few months back. After everyone left it was about 5 a.m. or so and here comes Prince on his bicycle with the biggest grin ever. He looked so happy and that made my day.

"To the fans, thanks for all your support and may Prince's music withstand the test of time."

—Tom Underwood, Chanhassen