SLEEPY EYE– One of Downtown Sleepy Eye’s most prominent buildings prepares to reopen this week as a destination for clothing, gifts and accessories, just in time for the holidays.
Serendipity Boutique will open Saturday, Nov. 6, at 101 West Main St., in the former State Bank of Sleepy Eye building on the corner of Main Street and First Avenue. The business fulfills a vision of owner Crystal Ibberson, a special ed teacher and Sleepy Eye native who decided after years of thinking about the venture that now was the time.
“With the pandemic and other life experiences, I realized life is too short to not follow through with your dreams,” she said.
Ibberson sees Serendipity Boutique meeting a need for local shoppers while also drawing from nearby towns and even farther away. To stock the racks, she researched wholesalers from as far away as California and consulted friends and contacts in the clothing industry.
“The cool thing about a boutique is the inventory is constantly changing,” she said. “You’re always going to find new things.”
In addition to clothing, Serendipity will carry personal accessories, shoes, gifts and possibly household items. Ibberson intends to appeal to a wide range of shoppers with her prices.
“My main goal is to offer quality products — items that people are going to be able to wash and wear for years,” she said.
Serendipity’s arrival marks another reuse of a building on an increasingly active Main Street in Downtown Sleepy Eye. Crystal and her husband, Matt, leased the space this summer and began renovating with an eye toward showcasing its earliest features, from its marble surfaces and stained glass to the crown molding on its soaring ceilings.
The boutique’s most unique piece of history — and on prominent display in the sales room — is the large bank vault door, leading to the walk-in safe that once held the fortunes of untold farmers, shop owners and others from Sleepy Eye’s past. Retaining that history while providing another boost to life on Main Street is doubly sweet for Ibberson, a mother of three who returned to her hometown after 15 years away.
“This is home to me,” she said.
Tentative hours for Serendipity will be 4-7 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. Follow Serendipity Boutique, LLC on Facebook for more updates and peaks at inventory.
https://www.nujournal.com/news/local-news/2021/11/01/serendipity-boutique-opens-nov-6-in-sleepy-eye/