Home Decor business owner has long been eyeing State Street location
15 Oct 2024
BELOIT — After 11 years of trying to take advantage of Beloit’s Farmers Market, Kristy Pearson finally has a spot in downtown Beloit to her liking.
In early October, Pearson opened Home Decor & Gifts at 316 State St.
“The Farmers Market is May to October,” Pearson said. “That’s hundreds of people in front of this location every weekend. When it ends we’re getting into the holiday shopping season.”
Home Decor & Gifts is Pearson’s third store. Not bad for someone who entered the retail business to have control of her schedule so she could raise a family. She opened Vintage Bliss, an antique and crafters store, on Grand Avenue 11 years ago before moving it out to 3100 Riverside Drive. It now has 60 vendors and somewhat runs itself.
Wanting to branch into new gifts, Pearson opened Home Decor & Gifts in downtown Rockton in 2022. After a year in Rockton, she was eyeing a better location but the building needed too much work so she opened Home Decor & Vintage in downtown Elkhorn.
Finally, earlier this year she heard that Austin’s Barber Shop, a Beloit institution dating back to 1916 that had been at 316 State St. for more than 20 years, was moving to 603 Broad St. Pearson had a discussion with the building owner and took possession of the space in August to begin converting a barber shop into a retail store.
Retail corridors are always evolving and the 300 block of State Street is entering a new era. Stanton Shoes across the street, which had been a fixture on State Street since the 1930s, closed at the end of September. Noggins Hair Studio/Tip To Toe Nails next door to Stanton Shoes moved as well to 635 Broad St.
“You have Walnut Creek around the corner along with Bath & Body Fusion,” Pearson said. “When people come to the downtown area, they want to walk around and see several stores. I feel like when someone has a specific thing in mind like the hottest toy, that’s when you just go to Amazon. If you’re looking for a meaningful gift, people want to go and find something special.”