New boutique opens in Dubuque; business offering wellness services opens in Maquoketa; Dubuque vintage clothing business debuts – BizTimes.biz

Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-states. This edition highlights Dubuque and Maquoketa, Iowa.

A new boutique has opened on Dubuque’s Main Street.

Phoebe’s Dressing Room opened Thursday at 1043 Main St. between First Light Tattoo & Gallery and O’Toole Office Supply. Owner Dana Huettman said she worked on the space for five or six months prior to opening, and she plans to hold her grand opening Aug. 4.

“For two years, I was managing a boutique (Vivie Boutique) in the Millwork (District) that closed,” Huettman said. “I loved learning the business side of it. When that closed, I thought I might as well give this a try.”

Phoebe’s Dressing Room — named after Huettman’s youngest daughter — features women’s clothing and accessories from various brands. Huettman said she aimed to have pieces that are affordable, fun and colorful.

“We’re going to stick with women’s (clothing), because that’s what I know,” Huettman said. “Some people have asked about us getting men’s or children’s. Eventually if I do ever branch out, it would be years down the road.”

Huettman said her opening weekend was “amazing,” with lots of friends, former coworkers and people she hadn’t seen since working at Vivie Boutique visiting the store.

“I’ve always been a boutique shopper,” she added. “I feel like there is a good group of boutiques in town. They all have a different focus, and that’s what I tried to do, too.”

She added that she loves her store’s location in the 1000 block of Main Street, and she has met other nearby business owners.

“There’s steady, high traffic in this area all day, with the coffee shops in the morning, offices and restaurants open a little later at night, which is great,” she said.

Phoebe’s Dressing Room is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The store can be found online at phoebesdressingroom.com, as well as on Facebook and Instagram.

Business offering wellness services open in Maquoketa

A new business offering wellness services is operating in Maquoketa.

Lucida Sol Wellness & Botanicals opened mid-May at 111 E. Platt St.

“I have been practicing in Maquoketa for more than a decade as a massage therapist professional,” said owner Theresa Leppert. “I’m also an aromatherapist, but I was renting space. I really wanted to get both businesses under one roof.”

Leppert offers therapeutic massages, relaxation massages, aromatherapy, reflexology and Reiki, an energy therapy.

The name of the business, Lucida Sol, stems from the logo for the business, which is a sun with a spiral in the center to indicate healing. “Sol” means “sun” in Spanish.

Since opening, Leppert said the business has been busy, with appointments booked through July.

Leppert said she became a massage therapist after being referred for her first massage in 2009 while experiencing chronic pain following a back injury.

“Chiropractic massage had a profound effect on my life, so much so that I left my former career,” Leppert said. “It gave me my life back, and I want to do that for other people.”

Lucida Sol Wellness & Botanicals is open for appointments Monday through Thursday with some Friday appointment availability. Appointments can be booked at lucidasol.com

Vintage clothing business opens store in Dubuque

A vintage clothing business has opened a store in downtown Dubuque.

CHAIN Vintage opened Friday at 373 Bluff St., above Monk’s Kaffee Pub. The store will share space with AMIDST Magazine and Dorothy Mae Photography/Memphis Made Hats, which both were already located in the building.

“Earlier this spring, the opportunity came along to have a store,” said owner Willie Tigges. “AMIDST Magazine and Dorothy Mae Photography were renting a space above Monk’s, and they had someone they were sharing the space with come out. It was a perfect opportunity for me.”

Tigges said CHAIN Vintage started in fall 2021, when he started doing pop-ups with vintage clothing pieces he had.

“I kind of have always had the idea of a vintage clothing store,” he said. “I always loved recycling and fashion. With the merging of the two, I can select things that are already out there instead of creating new goods, and I loved the sustainability of that.”

Since starting the pop-ups, customers expressed to Tigges their love of having vintage options in the community.

“During the pop-ups, I saw more success than I ever suspected,” he said. “Dubuque used to have a vintage store, but I wasn’t sure if this was something people would still be interested in. But there has been an outpouring of support.”

CHAIN Vintage was open Friday through Sunday for shopping, and for the rest of June and July, Tigges said, the store will be open on select dates that can be found online. Starting in August, the store will be open by appointment so shoppers can look for items on their schedule.

Tigges said he keeps a wide variety of sizes and styles in stock, with clothing dating from the 1920s to the early 2000s.

“I think it’s just going to be great to have something like this in Dubuque,” Tigges said. “I’m a huge lover of the city I live and grew up in.”

More information on CHAIN Vintage can be found online at CHAINvintage.com, as well as facebook.com/ChainVintageCo or on Instagram @chainvintageco.