Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique, Osage, chosen for Small Business of the Month Award

AMES, Iowa – America’s SBDC Iowa (SBDC) is pleased to announce that Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique of Osage, is the winner of the SBDC’s statewide December Small Business of the Month Award.

Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique is an online boutique and pop-up store based in Osage, Iowa. Owners Lacey Huisman and Michele Johnson opened the online boutique in October 2017, providing their community a local online option of attractive and affordable clothing. They began selling directly to their customers using Facebook. Word of mouth, local ownership, and an instinct for selecting unique, well-priced apparel made Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique immediately popular. Owner Michele Johnson said, “We use Facebook Live to talk about new products and feature our favorite things, but we also just chat.”

Since beginning their online boutique, Lacey and Michele have also held private parties, and have opened a pop-up shop in downtown Osage. They worked with Brook Boehmler of the North Iowa Area SBDC, as they transitioned to adding the pop-up shop. They also enrolled in Venture School, a 7-week entrepreneurial training program taught by the University of Iowa on the NIACC campus.

Brook Boehmler, Regional Director, North Area Iowa SBDC says, “Lacey and Michele have built a successful local business that fulfills an important niche in rural Iowa by challenging the retail status quo and using innovative methods to reach and serve their customers.”

For more information about Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique, visit www.petuniasandpixiedust.commentsold.com/store or on their Facebook page at http://bit.ly/PetuniasPixieDustFacebook.

America’s SBDC Iowa is an outreach program of Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business and the Office of Economic Development and Industry Relations. Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Veteran. Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to the Office of Equal Opportunity, 3410 Beardshear Hall, 515 Morrill Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, Tel. 515-294-7612, Hotline 515-294-1222, email eooffice@iastate.edu.

Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, America’s SBDC Iowa has 15 regional assistance centers located strategically across the state. Since program inception in 1981, the SBDC has helped Iowa businesses and entrepreneurs through no fee, confidential, customized, professional business counseling and practical, affordable training workshops.

For more information on America’s SBDC Iowa programs or services, call (515) 294-2030 or visit www.iowasbdc.org, https://www.facebook.com/AmericasSBDCIowa, or @IowaSBDC on Instagram and Twitter.

Press Contacts:

Stacy Dreyer, America’s SBDC Iowa, 515-294-5595, sdreyer@iastate.edu

Brook Boehmler, Northern Iowa Area SBDC, 641-422-4342, Brook.Boehmler@niacc.edu

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Pictured left to right: Petunias & Pixie Dust Boutique owners Michele Johnson and Lacey Huisman