The Oshkosh West Index - Local botique keeps downtown from pushing up daisies

Volume 106, Issue 4

Online Features

Local botique keeps downtown from pushing up daisies

By Sadie Dempsey
posted January 26, 2010

Snuggleed in between Limelite studio and Upscale Resale on downtown Market Street, the botique, dainty daisies, is home to countless unique, handmade clothing items and accessories that are sure to please each customer that walks through its delightfully decorated swinging glass doors. For boutique owner, Michelle Pieterick, dainty daisies is the culmination of nearly a decade of dedicated, unyielding work and intense fervor.

"I feel that the passion I feel for my business is what truly sets dainty daisies apart from other shops" said Pieterick.

Forging intimate connections with customers, as well as a plethora of featured artists, also seems to aid in making dainty daisies into more than just an average shopping location.

"I run the store myself, and am personal friends with nearly every single one of the artists and crafters featured in my store," said Pieterick.

Although dainty daisies features new artists monthly, Pieterick's own creations are always available. Ranging from stylish, patterned purses with vintage pins, one-of-a-kind skirts, adorable button bracelets, and even hand-made hair accessories, the impeccable quality and quirky aura that exudes from each item makes it impossible to fathom that Pieterick has never had any form of professional training in sewing.

"I started sewing as a hobby a little over nine years ago," she said. "I am self taught and have always had an extremely distinct personal style that is reflected in each and every item that I create."

Her natural talent has been a key factor in helping her business expand rapidly throughout the past few years.

"My business has grown so much since my days of vending at the Oshkosh Farmer's Market," said Pieterick. " I was one of the very first craft vendors to be featured there."

With a business expanding more rapidly than Pieterick ever dreamed possible, she has been able to bring in countless talented featured artists from as far away as Chicago, New York, and Pennsylvania. Dainty daisies is steadily redefining what it means to be a quality local boutique, while also changing the common perceptions on what it means to be a vendor of high quality products.

"I would like everyone that purchases something from my store to get a unique, well-made, affordable piece; whether it be clothing, accessories, or even something as small as a magnet," said Pieterick. "I am also showing the world that handmade doesn't mean cheap and ugly, I have some amazingly talented artists featured in my shop."

Along with providing shoppers with one of a kind products, dainty daisies is also offering a means to spend money in a way that will directly affect the community.

"I definitely think that when you buy something handmade from a regional artist, you are helping to contribute to our local economy," said Pieterick. "When you buy at a box retail store, how are you supposed to know where your money is actually going?"

The local economy, especially how it affects local businesses, is something that Pieterick is quickly developing a larger interest in since moving to Oshkosh six years ago.

"I am definitely trying to get more involved with the Business Improvement District and help make downtown a better place to shop and hang out," she said.

Even with expanding horizons, dainty daisies remains her primary source of passion and pride. When Pieterick says that she strives to feature "unique" pieces, it remains clear that she means it.

The boutique carries items that are utterly unheard of in many mainstream stores. From hand sewn patchwork underwear, to jewelry fashioned from old watch gears and other tiny trinkets, to ornate floral headbands, and even magnets designed using pages from famous children's books, dainty daisies seems to have a plethora of products that would generally remain foreign to the shelves of other shops. With the new year just beginning, the dainty daisies catalog is expected to expand and feature countless crafty, new products that are sure to leave a lasting impression.

"I really feel that opening my store here offers something to the downtown that you only see in big cities," said Pieterick.

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