WAUPUN — The Graceful Nest held their ribbon cutting last Friday morning, November 22, followed by their grand opening throughout Friday and Saturday.
The Graceful Nest is the shopfront for Lavender Valley Designs, located at the former Fletcher Studios at 11 N Madison St, which was previously the location of the House of Handcrafters. Operated by sisters Angelica Grebel and Rebecca Pickart, Lavender Valley Designs sells a wide variety of handmade crafts and decorations.
The two sisters, who live in Horicon, started Lavender Valley Designs two years ago making handmade home decor and gifts that they would sell at craft fairs. They had been looking to open a storefront location, but rent prices were too high to be viable—so when they saw their new building up for sale, they purchased it.
“We love shopping downtown Waupun,” Grebel said. “We always shop at all the little stores down here and it’s just such a cozy quaint little downtown—they make everybody feel at home.”
Despite purchasing the building in May of this year, they weren’t able to make any renovations to the first floor until November 1 due to inheriting a lease from the previous owner. Once they were able to get into the building, Angelica’s husband, Jay Kroneman, who is a general contractor, did most of the renovations himself over the two and a half weeks before opening.
“I don’t know if any of you were in here before, but it didn’t look like this twenty two days ago,” Grebel said, referring to the renovations and new paintjob inside the building.
They were also very interested in the history of the building. According to what they were able to find, the building was originally built in 1855 as a women’s prison down the street, but was moved to its current location after construction on a more permanent structure was completed. For a time it was the town’s post office, and for most of its history served as a photography studio—first by Alfred and Stanley Johnson, then by the Fletchers.
As for what they had to say to the people of Waupun:
“Come see us!” she said. “We want everyone to come and take a look around. And we’re always open to custom orders, if people want things made or personalized. We’ll be adding things all the time and we will be open year-round for all holidays and all seasons.”
The Graceful Nest hours are Wednesday 10AM to 5PM, Friday and Saturday 9AM to 5PM.
