by Eavin Moore

So I was looking in my wife’s car for a CD she stole from my car. (She does that; and inevitably when I get them back they are in the wrong cases.)  Anyway, while I was looking I found a garbage bag full of old vintage neck-ties, like from the 30’s and 40’s. I figured either she’s got some craft project in mind, or she’s fooling around with some old guy in a nursing home on the side.

I confronted her with the evidence, and she said she is taking her deceased father’s old neckties Downtown to Casey Wallerstedt so she can turn them into a skirt.

“What are you talking about woman?” I ask her, “Casey Wallerstedt is 10 years old, what does she want with your Daddy’s old ties?”

“No, dear,” she said, “Casey’s been out of college a few years already, just like our oldest. She has a boutique Downtown where she designs and sells all this cool funky stuff.”

“Wait a minute.” I said incredulously, “I just coached her in 4th grade basketball like 2 years ago; number 10, my best rebounder, set really good picks.”

“Right girl, sweetie, but that was like 20 years ago.”

Oh! So then I figure hey, let’s go look at her stuff!

I pull up to the corner of 8th and Francis in the CLAMS van and I can see the display windows are filled with color. As I get closer I see frills and fringe and sequins and ribbons and all kinds of froo-froo stuff. (Pardon the technical jargon.)   I walked in and a series of bings and bongs from the door chimes greeted me and summoned the proprietor from a back room.

I was expecting the Casey Wallerstedt I remembered but instead this lovely, sophisticated, grown up young woman came out to greet me.

“Who are you, and what have you done with Casey Wallerstedt?” I ask. “And also when did you get so…..girly?”  Girly is actually one of the best words to describe the store itself. In fact, looking around, this could be the most girly place in the whole universe.

The other word would be original. Everything she makes is a one-of-a-kind original. For instance the afore mentioned skirt for my wife. Making things from used neckties is clever, but making things from a loved one’s neck-ties is much more special. She showed me examples of many products incorporating the ties and told me about all the times where several people in a family all got items from their father’s or grandfather’s ties as mementos.

Casey is actually a textile artist and a graduate of K-State University with a degree in apparel design. She considered re-locating to a major market like Chicago, but was intrigued with the idea of establishing her own operation here in her home town. Her line of handbags, jewelry and wearing apparel quickly outgrew the workroom in her parents home so she transformed a fabulous space in the old Krug Realty office at 8th and Francis. As she showed me around she pointed out all the things her folks did to help her put it together.

You really should see it. My beautiful wife has dragged me through boutiques all around the globe. Trust me I’ve done my time in the husband’s seat outside dressing rooms from Vail to Venice. I say you could plop this cool, funky, store down in any trendy shopping district in the world and it would fit right in.

As interesting as the shop is, the workroom in back is maybe more so with a wall of ribbon spools, huge baskets of ties, scarves and cloth samples and the large work table with various sewing equipment. It’s really quite the production facility. I got to examine several custom order pieces that Casey completed and has waiting for pick-up next week.

She explained that she is just now catching her breath from a fantastic Christmas season. It sounds like a lot of local ladies found a Mod-Podge original under the tree this year, as she got tons of husbands and boyfriends coming in to shop for their significant others.

Casey has a lot of plans for her business including expanding her web site offerings. But in the meantime, stop and browse the only boutique in town where you can not only see so many one-of-a-kind creations, you can actually meet the designer. She also continues to get involved in promoting downtown. She took second place in her division in the Christmas Window decorating contest, and is staying open late the night of the Mardi Gras Parade with one-of-a-kind beads and other specials.

Her regular hours are Monday through Friday 10 am to 5 pm and Saturday noon to 5pm. You can call her at 816-279-0577 or visit the web site at www.modpodge4u.com.  Stop in and let Casey tell you, “Come Look At My Stuff!” And don’t forget to tell her “Joe sent you”.