By Meica Hatters
In an effort to show the beauty of the past and celebrate the new, Tori and her mother Norma opened Embellished Hearts. Located at 724-58th St., Tori used her artistic flair to transform her store from an eclectic women’s clothing store into a visually appealing artistic store. Embellished Hearts gives visitors a glimpse into the past through antiques and embraces the present through artistically inspired refinished furniture and accents created by her and local artists. Tori believes that a person cannot move forward without celebrating the past. She hopes that Kenosha residents will begin to cherish downtown and encourages its grow in the future.
Tori first fell in love with Kenosha’s beautifully crafted buildings and calm pace which she says encourage you to stop and enjoy life. Coming from a more corporate environment, Tori appreciates the historic community feeling and hopes to contribute.
Tori’s appreciation for Kenosha’s Downtown transformation was echoed by the owners of two other new stores. Kelly, the owner of Seat Yourself, echoed the want of Downtown’s transformation. She’d like to see Kenosha’s downtown as her mother described it to her — busy with people and full of places to shop.
Seat Yourself, located at 5721 6th Ave, offers a variety of affordable, like new, used furniture. From the end tables to their living room sets, all of the future at Seat Yourself would be amazing additions to any home. The only way to tell that the items are used is by their affordability. Kelly’s goal is to offer quality used furniture at a reasonable price and keep these items out of landfills. Her purpose is more sentimental. The store, as it is today, was her father’s dream and she is proud to carry out that dream and provide the community with an alternative to high price, big box furniture stores.
Not far from Seat Yourself, Joyce Marie (the creative mind) and Krista (the business mind) conceptualized Paperazzi 20 years ago. Back then it was a pet boutique in a struggling city in Illinois. Since then Joyce Marie moved to Pleasant Prairie and fell in love with graphic design. Krista also moved to the Kenosha Area and developed a fondness for project management.
Paperazzi is a full service paper store offering stationary, greeting cards (traditional and “offbeat”), as well as a small selection of scrapbooking materials and books. Joyce Marie is also proud to offer onsite printing services. She can customize stationary for your everyday communication needs and she’s ecstatic to be able to print special occasion invitations. Krista and Joyce also hope to offer work areas for artists interested in creating their own cards, scrapbook pages, and meeting other artists.
Krista and Joyce, like the other store owners, had the option to open up in one of the new strip malls popping up in Kenosha County. They barely considered it. Both watched other cities go through similar life cycles as Kenosha has, and they believe this downtown has potential and hope to be a part of the growth.
It is beautiful to watch Kenosha grow and welcome three new stores to their community. Tori, Norma, Kelly, Krista, and Joyce all hope their stores will contribute to the sense of community and encourage other stores to open up around them. Each store owner described their business, to some extent, as a “labor of love.” They are examples of the love for beauty and a passion for the community that is contributing to Kenosha’s Downtown.
Meica Hatters graduated from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Since then she’s enjoyed exploring her interest in writing and community involvement.
