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A SOUTHERN LAKES NEWSPAPERS LLC PUBLICATION • 2021 EDITION
A fusion of passions
BELLA BOTANICA COMBINES PLANTS, GIFTS AND A NURTURING SPIRIT By Sandra Landen Machaj CORRESPONDENT
Tracy Hankwitz spent years working with plants and garden materials, celebrating creativity, and looking to help provide comfort for all. Her ultimate goal was to create a shop where she could combine all these passions. To carry through with this goal Hankwitz knew that she would have to find a special place for her business. It would have to be a place that provides a special vibe. She found the perfect place in modest structure at 1787 Walworth St., Spring Prairie, that was built as an Episcopalian church in 1865. “The Episcopalian community used this simple building as a church for many years, possibly until they outgrew the space,” Hankwitz said. Things changed in the building around 1940 when a farmer purchased it and used it to store hay. According to Hankwitz, it is believed that local children would find a way into the building to play in the hay. The building was restored as a church in the 1950s when the Methodist community of the area purchased it. They made massive improvements, adding stained glass windows, large light fixtures, a front entryway and a choir loft. When the area Methodists outgrew this church, it remained empty for approximately 30 years, according to Hankwitz, except for some community gatherings. The building was purchased around 1999 by the father of Kym MoyesDavidson with the plan to open an antique shop. Her store was creatively named “Pray for More Stuff.” She also added a kitchen and made the building her home. After her retirement from the antique business, Moyes-Davidson moved her residence from the church building and the space was used as a yoga center. A designing woman For years, while raising her family and working as a manager at Burlington Garden Center, Hankwitz enjoyed designing gardens and nurturing plants in the house and in the yard. She is an adjunct professor at Gateway Technical College where she teaches landscape design, herbaceous plants, and other plantrelated classes. But her dream was always to have her own store with products to provide a sense of peace and beauty for her customers.
Tracy and Neil Hankwitz, owners of Bella Botanica, say they enjoy helping customers find unique items for themselves or for gifts. The store, which has been open since April, continues to add new products. SANDRA LANDEN MACHAJ Women in Business
Prior to the store’s opening on April 1, Hankwitz and her husband Neil spent many hours transforming the building from a yoga center into the warm and welcoming place where customers would find a peaceful space with beautiful things. Neil came up with the name Bella Botanica. “The name is easily translated as Pretty Plants but it is more than that,” Tracy Hankwitz said. “On further study we found that botanica in Hispanic countries means a plant store that sells healing herbs or religious goods. And while bella means beautiful in Italian it also means promise of God. It soon became apparent that this was the perfect name for our special store located in this building that had served as a church for many years. We hope for this space to become a sanctuary within a sanctuary.” Where less is more For Hankwitz, it was the perfect
location for her store, a place that would project the feeling of peace while still serve a practical purpose with a variety of fine quality products. Her products are beautifully displayed in small groups, never giving the feeling of being piled together as is often seen in many stores where quantity rather than quality is the goal. Most items are displayed on antique tables or desks with other items that will work well together. The wall hangings offer a reminder of all the good in life. Hankwitz’s goal is for Bella Botanica to be a place where there are “plants that heal, words that inspire, gifts that encourage – a place to be creative, and the essence of fine horticulture.” She has followed this goal in the development of Bella. A variety of products are offered that are designed to add beauty to any home. Many of them are handmade by local artisans. These include handcrafted
beeswax candles in the shape of a dahlia. Or maybe a candle of an expectant mother is the gift that will bring a special smile? On the same table, for the flower growers, there is a book about growing dahlias along with a book about honeybees. Beautiful vintage puzzles of bees, butterflies and garden flowers are perfect for indoor time at home. With 1,000 pieces in each puzzle, it will require the work of the entire family. Pottery is displayed throughout the store – some of it created by local artisans. These include beautiful plates, serving pieces or mugs to add beauty to any table. There are also terra cotta pots to fill with plants. “With so many artistic people in the southern Wisconsin area, it is not difficult to find new and beautiful pieces, created by these local artisans, to offer to our customers.”
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Hoping to create a masterpiece 2021 WOMEN IN BUSINESS
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FORMER TEACHER MELDS PHOTOS, ART WITH KITTY ANNE CREATIVE By Mike Ramczyk CORRESPONDENT
The next time you’re down about how busy life is, imagine this: You have 7-year-old triplets, you just started a business during a pandemic and you’re also teaching your kids via home school. Sounds hectic, eh? Welcome to the world of the Kitty Cisler. The 36-year-old McHenry, Illinois, native is following her dream and passion of starting a photography business after teaching for 10 years. While it’s not a cold turkey career change, because the mom of three is also teaching her triplets at home this school year, it’s a way to do both while contributing to the business landscape of downtown Burlington. The Loop Commons, which opened to the public late lasy year, hosts a photography studio on the second floor, and Cisler runs Kitty Anne Creative out of the spacious, multi-room studio. “The whole point of this space is to get creative people together,” Cisler said. “We want to get together and create, from websites to podcasts, photography and other art.” “Just having a space for events for creative activities…like art shows.” Down the hall from the studio is office space for a podcast studio, where the Loops Common provides equipment and charges a fee for someone to host a show. On the ground floor, there is a meeting room in the middle of an underconstruction rock climbing wall and a coworking space. The co-working space, which provides a office away from home, charges a reasonable rate for people looking to get out of the house with their laptops or other devices. Loop Commons owner Bevin Dawson and Cisler met each other at LifeBridge Church, across the street on Milwaukee Avenue, and a friendship formed. A few years later, Kitty Anne Creative adopted an LLC, and now two years later Cisler runs her company out of the Loop. The Loop’s very first event was Cisler’s art gallery the night of Sept. 26, 2020, which drew a strong crowd. Cisler dedicated the gallery to portrait images of police officers and their families, to honor the men and women who protect and serve. It was near and dear to Cisler, who is married to a police officer. “I picked out 26 people, and I did a bio on them,” Cisler said. “They’re regular people, and I wanted to show that. My favorite thing to do is portraits. I like to get to the bottom of who they are.” “Sometimes it’s them with their family, sometimes it’s just them. With my art, I print them out. I paint on top of them, and I make them into fine art. That’s kind of my calling right now.”
A passion for art Cisler has lived in Burlington the past 10 years. She graduated from UWWhitewater with a Bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Then, she earned a teaching certificate from UW-Milwaukee.
“I had a passion for teaching, too, but I also wanted to be a studio artist,” Cisler said. “I taught elementary, 4K through second, at Trevor-Wilmot for 10 years. And my husband is from Wauwatosa, and is a police officer in the city of Racine. We met at Whitewater.” “I left teaching because I wanted to spend more time with my kids. This is my first year off from teaching. I wanted to focus more on my kids and more on this place (Loop). I wanted to still work parttime, but not four part-time jobs.” About 10 years ago, after college, Cisler, whose love of photography began on the high school yearbook staff, started to develop and hone her craft, and first earned money for her artistic vision. In terms of how to take a good photo, Cisler it’s more about how you use the equipment you have. “Every lens is different,” she said. “That’s the cool thing about the studio. I want people that aren’t professional photographers to go up to the studio … and take their own photos. Everything’s perfect up there, the lighting, the props. I want people to come here and be creative. “It’s exciting to me when other people are creating, so that’s why it’s a good fit at the Loop. It’s not just for me, it’s for anybody to come and be creative.”
What’s in a name? So why did Cisler choose the name “Kitty Anne Creative?” She wanted something that wasn’t just about photography. “I have a website, Facebook, Instagram, my own LLC,” she added. “I wanted to make it more official two years ago, as I had 60 or 70 clients at the same.” Cisler said 2021 is going to focus on getting people in the building and encouraging creative events. “My goal is to get people here, maybe teach a couple photography classes, just encouraging people to create,” she said. During the week, the photography studio is $75 per hour, and it’s $80 per hour on the weekends. But if you buy in bulk, there are discounts. Right now, on the Kitty Anne Creative Facebook page, Cisler is promoting two things. For January, she’s doing discounted portraits for military, fire and police people and their families, and in February on Valentine’s Day there’s a discounted couples package. Overall, Cisler is excited about what’s happening in Burlington, especially with new businesses like the Loop, Hopscotch Cakery, Hansen’s, and Runaway and Low Daily breweries popping up downtown. “I think Burlington has a lot of exciting, new things coming up, especially in the Loop,” she said. “Having a legitimate space makes me faster and more professional. With a studio, I don’t have to tear up my living room or rent a hotel room. To have a spot that’s indoors, winter is very long in Wisconsin, and it’s hard to do outdoor photos.” Visit kittyannecreative.com for more information. The Loop Commons is at 488 Milwaukee Avenue in downtown Burlington.
Kitty Cisler stands inside her photography studio in the recently opened Loop Commons in downtown Burlington. The 36-year-old former teacher said she hopes the studio becomes a hub of creative activity for the community. MIKE RAMCZYK Women in Business
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2021 WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Top left: A variety of displays can be seen in this view from the former choir loft, inviting customers to explore the shop’s unique inventory. Above: The stained glass windows add to the ambience of the building. They form a colorful background for this display of books. At left: Sam Porter and Emily Neumueller display the wreaths they created in one of the workshops held at Bella Botanica. A variety of projects are offered throughout the year. SANDRA LANDEN MACHAJ Women in Business
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Plants hold special place Plants have a special place in Hankwitz’s world. Having spent much of her life nurturing plants, she continues to do so in her own store. She currently carries a number of small indoor plants in the store and encourages indoor plants not only for their beauty, but, more importantly, to help maintain clean air in a home. As the season moves into summer, Bella Botanica will carry additional plants for outdoors. These will include a variety of perennials, especially those that are difficult to find locally. Who doesn’t love an herb garden? There will be a variety of organic herbs, that are not only beautiful plants but will provide healthy and tasty seasonings for meals. As a teacher, a landscape designer and expert on plants, Hankwitz also enjoys writing about plants, gardening and growing in her faith. She writes a monthly newsletter, Naturally Bella Journal, that can readers may subscribe to by visiting Bella Botanica’s website. With all her gardening tips, your landscaping will be even more beautiful by the end of the summer season. And, with new perennial plants it will return just as beautifully next spring. For Hankwitz, life is beauty and she works to share that vision with her customers and friends. The Makery, offers a variety of creative experiences to bring out your artistic side. Makery classes and workshops are held at Bella Botanica on weekends and weekday evenings and offer a variety of options including painting, crafting, gardening, and jewelry making. Dinners al fresco Each month the shop offers a family
dinner enjoyed outdoors to celebrate the food of the season. Last month the meal was created by Bob De Palma of Softwave Fish Company and Angela of GG’s. The dinner consisted of shrimp, pasta salad, couscous, and fresh green salad. Samples of sauces and dips were also enjoyed. De Palma explained what to look for when purchasing shrimp while Angela shared secrets of how simple it is to cook seasonally, using the fragrant herbs. Tickets for the dinners are $15. Additional details about the dinners can be found on the Bella Botanica website – bellabotanicaboutique.com. Each quarter there is an artist in residence who will have their work hanging in the gallery. This spring the featured artist was Belinda Abendschein, who known for her nature watercolors. Her work will remain at the store into June and then a new artist in residence will be chosen. Spend some time at Bella Botanica and enjoy the comfortable upholstered chairs flanking the fireplace while viewing the many inspirational messages on the walls, such as “Life is Beauty full” hanging over the fireplace. On another wall, customers are reminded that “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.” For Hankwitz these mantras are part of her beliefs. Bella Botanica is located minutes north of Lake Geneva near the intersection of highways 120 and 36, in Springfield. Contact Bella Botanica by phone at 262-379-8786 or visit at bellaBotanicaboutique.com for more information. Hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
2021 WOMEN IN BUSINESS
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Quilt shop gets boost from pandemic By Heather Ruenz STAFF WRITER
Right: Paddington’s Pals owner Terri Tiernan-Maguire offers in-home pet sitting and dog walking through her Burlington location. Left: Kelly Everson, owner of Cedar Dale Pet Resort in Genoa City, poses with her pups for a “family photo.” The pet boarding and grooming facility has been in business since 1981 and features play areas on nearly 10 acres for the boarded animals. SUBMITTED PHOTOS Women in Business
Muzzled by coronavirus PET BOARDING, SITTING TAKES A HIT DURING PANDEMIC By Tracy Ouellette EDITOR
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way many businesses operate in the past year and for some businesses, it’s meant a sharp decline in clients and income. From restaurants and stores with limited capacity to people working from home, everyday life looks much different than it did before March 2020. While most businesses have found way to adapt to the “new normal” there are some service industries that endured a near shutdown of clients. For two area pet care businesses, the demand for services such as boarding, walking and in-home pet sitting dropped off drastically. Kelly Everson, who has owned Cedar Dale Pet Resort in Genoa City for five years, said when the pandemic first hit, she lost most of her pet boarding clients. “It was way down in the beginning,” Everson said in March. “It’s slowly getter better, but we’re still way down from where we would usually be.” With people not traveling because of COVID-19, the need for pet boarding services dried up last year, resulting in Everson having to layoff employees. “I was able to make it through last summer OK, the PPP money lasted through most of June and then it was busy enough and I was able to keep most of the people I brought back from unemployment, but then I had to layoff two of them in November. Now I have a second round of payroll protection and that will help cover costs. I brought back one employee from unemployment recently and I have plenty for them to do,” Everson said in March. She added that it was her daycare and grooming side of the business that has carried her through the past year. “Initially we did curbside pickup of the pets, but now we leave it up to the customers, if they’re not comfortable coming in, they
can call us and we’ll come out,” Everson said. She also adjusted her hours, tailoring them to when they are seeing businesses, most notably cutting her morning drop off times for daycare to 7 to 9 a.m. instead of staying open until noon because her clients were mainly dropping off their dogs in the mornings. “I’m still flexible with hours if someone needs something, I can make it work and I’m trying to be as accommodating as we can and sensitive to what makes sense with our hours and not having an employee here for eight hours at a time with no one coming in.” Everson said one of her main concerns is making sure everyone is comfortable with their situation and she will work with their individual needs, even picking up animals from the homes of some of her elderly, atrisk clients. “It’s what they need right now, so it’s what I’m doing,” she said. “We’re open to whatever people are comfortable with.” Everson said she was planning for the business to pick up over the summer, and was already seeing signs people are a little more willing to travel and board their pets. More people getting vaccinated also was helping. “My only hope is that it’s a gradual thing,” she said. “It will be easier that way, I don’t want 60 dogs all at once because I have to try to keep up with the hiring as we get busier.” Walking the dogs For Burlington dog walker and pet sitter Terri Tiernan-Maguire, the pandemic also brought her business to a near grinding halt. “I haven’t got as much work, that’s for sure,” Tiernan-Maguire said in March. “I don’t have any inhibitions about going into people’s homes to pet sit, but people aren’t traveling and I’ve lost all my dog walking people because they’re working from home.” She added that things are starting to “pick
up” a bit and she’s had a couple of in-house pet sitting jobs over the first few months of the year and had more on the books for spring and summer. “I think people are more willing to go out now and vacation a bit,” Tiernan-Maguire said. Pet sitting and dog walking is TiernanMaguire’s “retirement job,” which she began about three years ago. “I love dogs and cats – I love all animals, really,” she said. “A dog will never let you down. You can be having the worst day ever and when you come home, all that dog wants to do is love you and be loved by you. Yes, it’s a big commitment, but it’s so worth it.” Tiernan-Maguire sits for pets in their own home and word-of-mouth advertising and repeat clients keep her busy, in a normal year. “I think the reason people keep calling me back is because I’m extremely communicative with the owners. When someone is away, they want to know their animas are being well taken care of. I’ll text in the morning and evening to let them know how things are going. I take pictures and send them so they can see their animal. It’s important to me to make sure they know their animal is OK.” Tiernan-Maguire said she also does a “meet and greet” with prospective client families before taking on someone new. “Everybody has to be comfortable with this,” she said. “I need to be comfortable with them and make sure I can care for the animal and they need to make sure their animal is being left with someone who cares.” Paddington’s Pals, 180 Bridge St., Burlington, is fully insured through Pet Sitter’s Associates. For more information, visit paddingtonspals.com or call 262- 492-0745. Cedar Dale Pet Resort is at N1538 North Daisy Drive, Genoa City. For more information, visit www. cedardalepetresort.com or call 262-279-3900.
The pandemic has made owning a business a challenge for many, including some that didn’t survive. But that hasn’t been the case for one local family, who credit COVID-19 with helping them piece together a successful year. The Quilting Connection in Elkhorn is not a fabric shop. In fact, according to Sue Schmieden – who owns the business with her husband, daughter and son-in-law – if someone stops in for the sole purpose of buying fabric, they’ll likely be disappointed. “But it’ll get them in the door, I guess, and who knows what that could lead to,” she said with a laugh. The possibilities of what such a stop could lead to include enlisting the help of Schmieden and her crew to finish a quilt or a customer taking the necessary steps so they can be involved in the process. “Our shop is more like a studio. We have several quilting machines available for our classes and rentals. After the beginning class, students can rent out longarm or sit-down quilting machines by the hour to finish their quilts,” Schmieden said. The Quilting Connection also offers Handi Quilter longarm sales, service and training, which is backed with 22 years of experience. Schmieden and her husband, Al, and daughter, Angie Dugan, and her husband, Rick, are all authorized representatives for Handi Quilter longarm and sit-down quilting machines. Several other classes are available as well as ongoing training for customers who purchase their own machines through one of The Quilting Connection stores. Schmieden said she and her daughter also offer machine rentals, longarm quilting supplies and machine quilting classes for people of all skill levels, beginner to expert. They have several employees “plus many helpful quilting customers,” Schmieden said. She said because of the portion of the business that sees customers renting time for use of the machines – usually by the hour – they jokingly refer to their business as “the barbershop.” Able to adapt Schmieden said The Quilting Connection has survived the COVID-19 pandemic as a direct result of people spending more time at home and many of them either taking up quilting or taking it to the next level. “It saved us, honestly. It’s been so sad to see how many businesses have struggled but we’ve been very blessed,” she said. They have also expanded their classes to online via Zoom (a live • CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
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Interest in repurposing grows AREA SHOP OFFERS PRODUCTS AND ADVICE TO CUSTOMER
By Jason Arndt
posting a blog of crafting ideas and online updates on its Facebook page about what they are working on. According to Cindy, the store’s Facebook followers often become customers who take an interest in crafting their own projects. “We are talking about the things that we have made and from that, we get a lot of people asking if they could purchase the craft from us, or how do they do it, and can they learn to do it,” Cindy said. When people buy paint from 2 Fancie Gals, Cindy said, the McGaughys include instructions and possible ideas on how to begin a project.
STAFF WRITER
People often discard old furniture, or books, when the items become unusable or broken. But at 2 Fancie Gals, of Burlington, the mother-daughter duo of Cindy and Aubrey McGaughy finds a way to repurpose and revitalize them into a new use. 2 Fancie Gals, housed in a former twostory home in downtown Burlington, touted its skills in a blog post. “Here at 2 Fancie Gals, we never throw anything away. For example, if we have a piece of furniture, we take it apart to use the top, legs or hardware,” the post states. “We find a purpose for as much as we can.” Cindy, the author of the blog post, remembers growing up with her dad who loved to read books and always had a paperback book in his back pocket so he could pull it out whenever he had a few spare minutes. “I love the smell of old paperbacks because they remind me of him. Instead of throwing those old books away, we use them in our home decor crafts.” The McGaughys, using their crafting skills, found three old books and painted them white on the outside covers before stacking them together and wrapping a piece of scrap burlap and twine around them to secure. Once finished, the three books stacked together include three paper flowers on top, which becomes a new piece of home decor. “Now it’s ready to place anywhere in your home to add a little farmhouse charm,” the blog states. 2 Fancie Gals can repurpose other items,
Cindy McGaughy, co-owner of 2 Fancie Gals in Burlington, works on a crafting project inside the store. JASON ARNDT Women in Business
including dressers, desks, and carries many home decor products inside its store. Those home decor products consist of Choose Love Body Butter, Gnome Noggins, Lemonaide Concepts, L&S Designs Jewelry, ReLove ReStyle Aprons, Rewined Candles, Serenity Soap Works, Trabellabee Cuffs and Woodfire Candles. Additionally, 2 Fancie Gals offers Chalked Country Paint, a family-owned company.
Crafty requests Since the COVID-19 pandemic began a year ago the McGaughys have seen an influx of people looking to begin their own crafting projects. “People have been asking us a lot about crafting,” Cindy said. “They have purchased a lot of crafting materials from us, our paints, there are things they can use to craft with.” The McGaughys, in response, began
Filling a void Cindy often spends time crafting with her two grandchildren, which she said has also grown in interest within the last six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Crafting with kids is really popular right now and I have two grandkids and we have crafted a lot of things together,” she said. “It gives kids something to do at home, it is interesting, fun and with their parents.” Meanwhile, with more people working from home, Cindy has seen an increased interest in repurposed and refurbished desks for children and parents. While 2 Fancie Gals offers desks for sale online, the local establishment accepts desks, which can be tailored to suit a customer’s vision. “We have sold a lot of desks with people working at home. That was popular. I repurposed a lot of desks for people,” she said. 2 Fancie Gals, 225 E. Jefferson St., Burlington, is accessible online at its Facebook page at 262-758-6210.
Rooted in friendship, entrepreneurial spirit OWNERS FLIP TRADITIONAL SALON NORMS UPSIDE DOWN
By Mike Ramczyk CORRESPONDENT
Rooted Hair Co. is quite the concept. Let’s just say it’s not your mom and dad’s barbershop. But it still has all the old feels that you love – spinning chairs, shampoo sinks and a professional stylist. Here’s where it gets interesting. There isn’t an owner that employs a team of stylists like a Cost Cutters or Great Clips. Actually, each individual is his or her own boss, treating their clientele to an exquisite setting of deep red colors and hardwood floors at a visible spot in downtown Burlington. The salon is the vision of two area stylists who felt they were working for someone all their lives and dreamed of doing it their way. Through adversity comes opportunity, and what in American history has been more adverse than the coronavirus pandemic? A few months ago, the question was why open a business during a pandemic? But now, it’s becoming a flat-out trend in Burlington. Rooted is another small business opening in 2020/2021 for downtown Burlington, which has seen Hansen’s, Hopscotch Cakery, Low Daily Brewery, The Runaway Nanobrewery, Quotes & Cotton and others revitalize what has been a series of vacant storefronts in recent years.
Above: Lindsay Held (left) and Andrea Johnson are owners of Rooted Hair Co., which opened in January. The salon provides space for independent stylists to rent chairs on a monthly or annual basis. Right: Lindsay Held, co-owner of Rooted Hair Co. colors a customer’s hair at the new salon in downtown Burlington. Rooted rents chairs to independent stylists. MIKE RAMCZYK PHOTOS Women in Business
Andrea Johnson and Lindsay Held both live in Lyons now, but Johnson grew up in Platteville. Held is an area native. Together they own the salon. “We opened Jan. 1, and this is a chair rental salon,” Johnson said. “We rent out stations to stylists so they can be their own boss. It’s becoming a lot more popular. We’re both moms with kids. You can set your own
hours, set your own prices, and if you only want to work one day a week, you work one day a week.” Held said, “They just pay us rent monthly. “It gives the flexibility for people to grow how they see fit. And they can use whatever hair care products they want to use. When you rent, you get a chair, you get a mirror and you get a station, but you must supply
your own color, all your own chemicals and any product you want to sell. We do it monthly and by year.” Johnson and Held both worked at Creative Expressions in Lake Geneva, a traditional hair salon. From there, they’ve stayed in touch over the years, and they’ve always thought about starting something. “I didn’t want to be anybody’s boss,” Johnson said. “The idea of that sounded like a headache, and ‘No, thank you.’ I looked for other options, so I found chair rental. When we were shut down, we were home and me and my husband talked about turning our basement into a salon.” Instead, there was a space in Lyons for rent, and Johnson went and looked at it. “I just did something crazy,” Johnson said about her call to Held after she looked at a place. “That space didn’t pan out, but the idea was going.” Craig Faust, a former owner of Hi-Liter Graphics of Burlington, owns the building on Chestnut Street, which also houses Super Tacos Moy restaurant. “My sister-in-law knows Craig, and his stepson dates my niece,” Johnson said. “ Rooted Hair Co. is at 140 W. Chestnut St., Burlington. It can be found on Facebook at Rooted Hair Co. or on the web at rootedhaircowi.com.
Wearing their hearts on What started online leads to their sleeves a storefront selling T-shirts By Mike Ramczyk CORRESPONDENT
One calls herself a ‘Farmer Lois.’ That’s a nod to Megan Swederski’s parents, Gary and Mary Lois, who are farmers on Highway O. Born and raised in Burlington, Megan now resides in Genoa City. There’s also Megan’s good friend, Allie Zusan, maiden name Soetenga. The two good friends have been hanging out, inspiring each other with cool ideas and taking a business risk – a big one. Quotes & Cotton is quite the concept. They sell T-shirts that are cotton, with quotes on them – “Support Local” to name one. “Allie used to be my boss at Wisconsin Vision,” Swederski said. “Early 2000s ... that was it, I didn’t really like her, and we weren’t friends.” Why would a student at Burlington High School and a student at Catholic Central be friends? Swederski and Zusan had the classic Burlington rivalry mentality that exists between the two schools. But that’s the stuff of high school kids. Today, they’re good friends in life and in business. Grand opening The women, both in their early 30s, had a grand opening Feb. 27 in downtown Burlington, a mere 12 months after starting their business online. Thanks to social media prowess from Zusan combined with creative clothing designs from Swederski, Quotes & Cotton built a following. Slowly, word got around, and, according to Zusan and her husband Ben, the company generated about $40,000 in its first year. Not too bad for something two friends just did for fun. A little more than 365 days later, Quotes & Cotton is part of a downtown Burlington district. On a chance encounter, Zusan’s oldest child of three, Henry, needed a children’s photographer. OK, Henry didn’t need photos, but Allie was looking to do something nice for the family. All jokes aside, it turned out Swederski was a professional photographer shooting mostly children’s photos, and they hit it off during their photo shoot. “She booked me, and that’s how we met,” Swederski said. “We became instant friends,” added Zusan. In 2019, the women took a “girl’s trip,” and Swederski said that’s how the idea of Quotes & Cotton materialized. They drove to the Quad Cities in Iowa – Davenport, to be specific – because they like finding small, cute stores in different towns and shopping – like a lot of people like to do. “Specialty clothing,” Zusan said. “We want people to come here and
Business owners Allie Zusan (left) and Megan Swederski hosted the grand opening of their Burlington T-shirt shop on Feb. 27. The two started the business as an online venture a year ago. MIKE RAMCZYK Women in Business
find something where they can dress up, they can dress down...it started as Simply Stated Tees, which started in February 2020.” So why Quotes & Cotton? “In Davenport, we were like ‘Gosh, we love this, we could totally do this,’” Zusan said. Swederski said they were just going there to shop for Christmas presents, and magic ensued. “We went to dinner and started drinking too much wine,” said Zusan, who was half-serious about the drinking but 100% about their passion for shopping. Swederski designs every shirt, and each one is inspired by a quote or some other simple message. Support Local. All shirts that have words on them are designed by Swederski and Zusan. The stuff without words? They get those garments from a wholesaler. There’s been plenty of local love from other area businesses. Hansen’s Screen Printing of Elkhorn makes their visions realities, since Swederski uses Adobe Illustrator to create her idea visually and then sends it to Nate Hansen. “We couldn’t find a storefront back in September, we literally woke up one morning and decided we wanted a store,” Zusan said. “We are definitely taking a risk. No loans or anything, we are all self-funded.” The women rent the space from the Rizzo & Diersen law firm, located in the same large building but wrapped
around to the west on Milwaukee Avenue. Prior to finding the current location, Swederski came up with the idea of a mobile boutique. So the duo decided to drive to Galena, Ill., and buy a 1967 Shasta travel trailer. “We bought it, drove it back home, and it hasn’t been used in three years. The girl selling it got it as part of a divorce,” Zusan said. “Megan’s super creative, I’m not. We would never do something without the other person being OK,” Zusan added. “We’re pretty blunt, and if we don’t like something, we tell each other,” Swederski said. So why Quotes & Cotton? “Our shirts are designed on cotton tees, and we always use quotes,” Swederski said. “Our goal is to continue to keep making shirts and keep buying wholesale inventory,” Zusan added. Even young Henry Zusan is on board. “A lot,” said the 8-year-old when a reporter asked the family about how much the business has made. Allie Zusan says it isn’t about them, though, it’s about the business and giving back to the community that raised Megan and Allie. “We’ve never paid ourselves,” Allie added. “Everything we’ve ever made has gone back in the business.” Quotes & Cotton is at 615 N. Pine Street in downtown Burlington. You can find it on Facebook and Instagram, or on the web at quotesandcotton.com.
2021 WOMEN IN BUSINESS
QUILT SHOP
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video teleconferencing program) throughout much of the pandemic. “We are so happy we jumped in last summer and started teaching on Zoom. Customers love the options to take the classes from the comfort of their own homes,” Schmieden said. She said they plan to continue to offer Zoom classes even after restrictions have been lifted and, they have learned some other useful lessons the past year. “The pandemic has been hard, but good things have come our way by adapting in any way we can,” she said. According to Schmieden, the business features talented, national educators – who offer a variety of quilting classes and workshops – at retreats they host throughout the year. “We are hosting a hands-on retreat with 12 longarm machines at Lutherdale Bible Camp in Elkhorn in June this year. Our customers are ready to come back and have some fun with us on our machines,” she said. Friendly and welcoming The family opened its first training and rental center in Elkhorn in 1999, servicing and supporting their longarm machine customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. In 2012, they expanded their business and opened the New London store to serve their Handi Quilter machine customers from northern Wisconsin, upper Michigan and northern Minnesota. “The Handi Quilter company wanted to have a representative in the Appleton area. We found our New London building online and went to see it,” Schmieden said. “Everyone there is very friendly and welcoming, and we enjoy the small-town atmosphere. It feels like home, just like Elkhorn.” Walk-ins aren’t currently allowed as the business is limiting how many people are in the shop at a time but those interested in learning more about the machines are encouraged to make an appointment. “They can come in and test drive the Handi Quilter machines. A lot of people want to see what the machines are about so we’re happy to make an appointment and offer a demonstration,” Schmieden said. And if people call in advance, they can find out when quilting will be happening so they can see how easy the process is, even for a first-time quilter. “New and experienced quilters will enjoy bringing in their quilt tops to finish themselves using our machines. The end result looks like it is difficult but it’s actually very easy and fun,” she said. “We have many different patterns and supplies for them to use during their rentals and are there to help with every step.” The Quilting Connection provides full service for any machine they sell, according to Schmieden. The Quilting Connection locations are 21 Adam St., Elkhorn, and 200 W. North Water St., New London. For more information call 262-723-6775, visit the website at longarmconnection.com or send an email to quiltingconnectionwi@yahoo.com.
Angie Dugan demonstrates the use of a longarm machine in The Quilting Connection booth at the Walworth County Fair. Staff finishes quilts for customers, or they offer a class on using the machines, which customers can then rent to do the finishing themselves. SUBMITTED PHOTO Women in Business
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