March 28, 2024

Your Sweet Pickin’s Boutique anniversary celebration Sept. 29

Your Sweet Pickin's Boutique, located at 119 W. Washington St., is celebrating its first anniversary 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.

To mark the special occasion, there will be in-store specials, a door prize drawing, refreshments, free caricatures by Alex Barr and a free gift with any purchase of $20 or more.

The boutique is known for hosting events in the second story space, so three crafters will be at the store 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., as well. Brilliance by Design will be making mini make-and-takes and Moss Boss Designs will be doing mini string art.

"It's something you can do while you're here and then take it," said owner Robin Linskens.

Art by K will also be there doing a painting demonstration for customers.

Your Sweet Pickin's took the summer off from hosting crafting events, so the anniversary is the kick off its events season starting up again. All three crafters host classes at Your Sweet Pickin's. The first event is an Art by K painting class Oct. 7.

In the past year, Linskens has grown her boutique to fit her customers' needs. She started out selling a lot of hand-crafted items and home decor with some clothing. She has since increased the amount of women's and children's clothing since that was her best seller. Over the summer, she added another department to her clothing section: women's consignment.

"I wanted to be a little different from everybody else here in town and offer something no one else was offering, so I started offering brand name women's consignment," said Linskens.

Linskens also sells new collegiate apparel.

"One thing I'm really excited about is Authentic Brand collegiate apparel. What's so special about them is they're an Iowa brand out of Perry, Iowa," said Linskens.

She has been very impressed with their quality of merchandise and their work ethic.

The thing Linskens enjoys most about owning Your Sweet Pickin's Boutique is the customer relationships and helping Osceola become a shopping destination.

"What I enjoy is the customers that come in. I love to hear feedback from customers," said Linskens. "I like that we give people a fun experience while they're shopping."

While owning a business, Linskens also works four days a week at the Clarke County Hospital. Her mother, Kathy Barr, works at the boutique on the days that Linskens is at the hospital.

"I have to give a lot of credit to my mom. If it wasn't for her, it'd be pretty tough for me to be where I'm at today," said Linskens.

Linskens has learned a lot in the past year of owning a business. She has been willing to adapt and likes learning customer shopping behaviors.

"I've learned so much about the retail industry," said Linskens. "I've learned the 'J' months are kind of slow for retail."

January, June and July tend to see a drop in sales for most retailers. Linskens has seen the trend with her boutique and has seen other retail owners in Facebook groups mention the same thing.

The best season for local retail is starting up now. Autumn through the winter holidays seems to see a spike in retail and Your Sweet Pickin's Boutique is ready for its second year and its fall and holiday shoppers.