Home decor and more at Moxie and Mortar in Solon

Moxie and Mortar house owners are Angie Janssen (still left) and Gretchen Swan model a present basket for a consumer at their shop in Solon on Wednesday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Wines accessible for purchase at Moxie and Mortar, 121 W Primary St., in Solon, Iowa, on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Kim Leone (still left) can help make a show arrangement for Sarah Hayek at Moxie and Mortar, 121 W Most important St., in Solon, Iowa, on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Witnessed from the showroom, Moxie and Mortar owners Gretchen Swan (left) and Angie Janssen design a reward basket for a shopper at their store, 121 W Primary St., in Solon, Iowa, on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Candles from St. Ansgar, Iowa, based mostly Milkhouse Candle Co., are displayed at Moxie and Mortar, 121 W Most important St., in Solon, Iowa, on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A customer is reflected in a mirror although they store at Moxie and Mortar, 121 W Major St., in Solon, Iowa, on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

SOLON — Stepping within Moxie and Mortar on Primary Street in Solon at this time of calendar year is a great deal like stepping into a Hallmark Channel Christmas motion picture.

Element of the explanation is that for co-homeowners Angela Janssen and Gretchen Swan, the shop is a house absent from property.

The duo opened Moxie and Mortar in late 2018, just before Thanksgiving. Although they have a couple of holiday getaway seasons below their belts, 1 of all those vacation seasons happened in the course of a pandemic, so they’ve acquired some exciting and unanticipated small business lessons.

“It genuinely improved some of what we assumed we would have in conditions of products for the property,” said Janssen, noting that they proceed to change goods dependent on consumer requests and browsing routines.

“There are certainly extra house decor and home furnishings parts than when we to start with opened.”

Janssen reported they were being equipped to change their business to cope with the ups and downs of the pandemic, only having to near their doorways for a whilst before adapting to taking pick up orders for prospects right before staying capable to open again up for in-keep buying.

“It’s absolutely been a obstacle, but I imagine we have learned so much from this time,” she claimed.

They also produced a web-site for the business enterprise throughout the last year and have extra than 1,000 objects outlined on their internet site. Though they really do not nonetheless ship goods, orders are all set for consumers to decide on up in-keep.

They’ve also noticed so a lot of changes on Principal Street. While Massive Grove was presently open up down the road when Moxie and Mortar opened, there was not yet a lot retail found in the new buildings going up. It’s a gamble that was properly really worth it, Swan explained.

“Now we are so thrilled about all the neighboring companies being listed here, too. This has genuinely turn out to be a good minor shopping desired destination that we are looking at men and women make a day of,” she said.

Packed whole of purely natural and fashionable furniture and decor, considerably of which now is Christmas and wintertime-centered, Moxie and Mortar aims for a welcoming experience.

Customers also will uncover a whole wall of wines to sample and buy.

“We definitely try to be a position that men and women can stop and select out a wonderful gift,” Swan reported.

Janssen and Swan knew of every other as a result of their children’s faculty. When they commenced noticing they ended up “liking” the identical products, especially linked to dwelling decor and type, on Pinterest they began speaking about opening their individual store.

“We talked about it casually at first, that it would be pleasurable,” Janssen recalled.

“But then we obtained much more serious and definitely set the do the job into figuring out if this would make sense,” Swan included.

The two stated they were performing a large amount of the operate at the rear of the counter when they first opened. Now, they’re having treatment of items driving the scenes most days.

“This is genuinely potentially since of the extraordinary staff that we have working listed here for us,” said Swan. “We couldn’t do it without them.”

Know of a Corridor business enterprise that might make for a nifty “My Biz” function? Let us know — [email protected].