This story came to us from our Let's Talk series. TMJ4 travels to different communities across Southeastern Wisconsin to meet with neighbors and discuss what's important to them. TMJ4 learned about this story from a Let's Talk Sheboygan event held at Paradigm Coffee.
Want to know about a store that's doing something different? Look no further than to 3 Elephants & Company in Sheboygan. They've been open for less than two years, and they've already doubled in size.
What started as a 300-square-foot shop with 35 vendors has turned into a 3,000-square-foot store with more than 75 vendors, 70 of which are from Sheboygan County.
“It’s great to find all these local people with all this neat stuff. It’s talent you don’t normally see," Jackee Kaiser, the store owner, said.
The elephants represent Kaiser and her two daughters, who help run the store along with Kaiser's husband.
The idea for the store came to Kaiser after she grew tired of going to weekend craft shows to sell her soaps and goods. She wanted something more consistent and nearby. So, she went from being a vendor at art shows to building a hub for other small businesses that's open six days a week.
“No, I never actually thought that this would go as far as it did, but I’m ecstatic and willing to put in all the energy I can to make it work," Kaiser said.
She sells everything from bridal dresses made from thrifted wedding gowns for Barbies to keychains to Sheboygan-themed wall decor to Wisconsin-themed art to deviled egg holders to soap, and so much more.
Watch: How one store doubled in size by betting big on Sheboygan County pride
"We're a small business trying to help out and encourage other small businesses," she said.
Kaiser tasks her daughter, Hollee, with vendor outreach. She travels to art fairs about twice a month, looking for new businesses to showcase.
“A lot of the people that don’t get to go out and sell their stuff, or people don’t know about talents that other people have, so I think it’s really important," Hollee Kaiser said.
Having a shop like this isn't necessarily new. However, 3 Elephants & Company is capitalizing on a resurgence of in-person shopping and a desire to support local creatives. While these vendors could sell on Etsy or customers could buy on Etsy, Kaiser has noticed that people want to be hands-on with their shopping. People tell her that they want to browse the shelves.
“This way, they can touch it, they can feel it, they can decide if they like it or not. The quality is able to be visualized," Jackee Kaiser said.
It's why businesses like Retrospekt, which refurbishes old technology like iPods, or Amber Ascher Photography, which takes tin type photos, or a developer making games for the original Nintendo, are all thriving. Physical media is popular again. Add the fact that so many of the products inside 3 Elephants reference Wisconsin or Sheboygan County, you can see why the store is doing so well.
"I can not talk enough about the talent that is just in our local area that people need to see," Kaiser said.
While the three elephants represent Kaiser and her daughters, it has come to mean so much more. The store represents a place where a hobby can become a business, and local Sheboygan County pride is celebrated on every shelf. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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