Bigger is better for Geneva boutique owner

Adding 300 square feet to your current store may not exactly qualify as a major development, but for Jeanna Gattuso of St. Charles that extra room represents much more for her Flair on 3rd clothing boutique on Third Street in Geneva.

By moving into an adjoining space once occupied by Art Gumbo and other businesses, Gattuso was acting on a gut feeling that it was the right thing for her store at 312 S. Third St.

"The owner wasn't utilizing that space for about a year, so when I was walking in and out of that area, I started to dream about it, and thought it would be a nice flow for the store," Gattuso said. "I opened the doors and it just felt good."

The extra space, which was open to the public last week, thus becomes another chapter in Gattuso's dream to own and operate a small business on Third Street - after being a victim of corporate downsizing more than a decade ago.

She's been operating Flair on 3rd at its current site for four years, featuring women's and children's clothing, after one year in a location just south of The Little Traveler.

"I've always been in some form of business or financial setting, and I have given my all to a lot of different companies," Gattuso said.

"About 10 years ago, I opened an online-only store with 100 percent American-made products," she said. "It was called Lollipops, and it was for children's clothes."

She operated out of a small house in Bartlett as part of a co-op, but always had her sights set on Third Street in Geneva.

"I was living in St. Charles and Third Street was always my go-to, so at one point it was a dream to own a business here," she added. "When I finally did, it just felt like home. This is where I live, where my kids go to school, where I shop, eat and breathe the Tri-Cities."

As owner of the shop, she also is the marketer, sales person and buyer who has to travel around the country at times to check out new clothing lines.

"I love to support artisans and the creativity behind someone else's dreams, so I support a lot of smaller companies and consciously sourced companies," she said.

Her husband, Anthony, has helped build shelves and completed some other handyman work on the site, and her two young daughters are often trying to help out as well.

So, the extra 300 square feet has some special meaning in that regard as well. But what does it do for the current set up?

"We're able to make all of the merchandise more visible and bring in more lines of clothing that better suit us," Gattuso said. "Everything we bring in, it's all about a touch-and-feel experience for customers."

During my visit to the shop, Gattuso was busy getting some models prepared for a fashion show, a task she takes on a few times a year to help various community causes and get her store's name on more ladies' minds.

"I always want to give back to where I live," she said. "And by doing one large fashion show a year, we can give 100 percent of our energy to that one show and make it a 'wow!'"

New Shuffle location: The Snowflake Shuffle 5K run and walk for TriCity Family Services has taken place in the Mill Creek subdivision and then along the cart path of the Royal Fox Country Club course in the past.

This time, it takes place from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at the Gunnar Anderson Forest Preserve in Geneva. That's the site next to the Kane County Government Center campus.

After helping out with the event a couple of times, we have since participated as walkers or runners each time.

I figure if someone is going to ask me to move my legs over a 5K course, it is probably better to do so in chilly temperatures, rather than risk it being hot and humid.

Other than that, it's fun and a worthy cause. You can register on the TriCity Family Services website.

History at Holmstad: Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke is as close as one can get to representing a walking, talking Batavia history book.

He'll be sharing much of his knowledge Monday, Oct. 29, about Batavia, but, more importantly, also about the Holmstad continuing care retirement center on Fabyan Parkway in Batavia.

Schielke will give a presentation on those topics at 10:30 a.m. at The Holmstad as part of a 10th anniversary celebration of the facility's Town Center.

Holmstad residents spend a lot of time enjoying activities in that center, but it has also served as a meeting room for various community organizations.

A Batavia Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting will take place after the mayor's talk, officially opening a "Walk in Love" portion of The Holmstad's courtyard. It will feature engraved pavers that supporters can purchase as tributes to loved ones. The money supports the Benevolent Care Fund for Holmstad residents who may have outlived their own resources.

Halloween history: Convinced that I may have been the only kid in the history of Halloween to wear a homemade Charlie Chan costume, probably in 1960 or so, I went on a Google search to see if any replica ever existed.

My Chan "costume" was really just my dad's suit coat and business hat.

When my dad asked me what I was supposed to be, I said I had no idea. He said, "You look like Charlie Chan."

So, Chan it was.

For those totally lost on this, Charlie Chan was a famous movie detective decades ago, solving crimes with his No. 1 Son. He almost always figured out who committed the crime through crafty deduction and crime-solving logic. Of course, his son was an eager helper, but a bumbling buffoon.

As for my Google search, it turns out someone else did try to recently wear what he was calling a Charlie Chan costume to an adult Halloween party. But he says he was accused of being racist toward Asians, so who knows what he really looked like. And those are the times we live in.

There was a listing for a vintage Charlie Chan mask in one pre-1960s site, but I never could locate that photo.

So, while it might be "fake news," I will continue to insist I am the only kid in history to go on trick-or-treat routes as the wise and crafty detective Charlie Chan.

dheun@sbcglobal.net