Iowa Small Business Stories

CocoRoo's founder, Iowan Jill Howarth, was frustrated with all the added chemicals, water, and unnecessary ingredients in most skin care products, so she took matters into her own hands. Her journey began in Australia where she lived for 14 years. Living in the warm Australia sun is great for year-round fun, but also hard on your skin.  This, in addition to her passion for organic products, inspired Jill to create a natural and more effective way to moisturize and hydrate skin. She wanted to … [Read more...] about CocoRoo Natural Skin Care – Made with love in Iowa

Brooke Happe stepped away from her career as a Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2015 to stay home with her two boys and soon to be newborn daughter. She wanted to keep her hands strong, as she used manual therapy for most of her rehabilitation techniques, so she challenged herself to learn something new for this new season of life: crocheting. After countless yards of yarn and many hours of teaching herself to crochet via the internet, she made her first hat! She continued to practice the … [Read more...] about b.e.happe Designs – Bringing happiness to children in hospitals

Did you know that Mason City is home to the last remaining hotel designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright? Wright on the Park, Inc., is the nonprofit organization that restored, owns and preserves the Frank Lloyd Wright’s Historic Park Inn Hotel. The iconic building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and originally opened in 1910. The design greatly influenced architecture in Europe and is as striking today as it ever was. According to an article in the Des Moines Register, the building … [Read more...] about Wright on the Park – Preserving a legacy

The best cheese begins with the best milk. And it doesn't get any more farm-fresh than Hinterland Dairy Farmstead in Donnellson, Iowa. They make fresh cheese every week in their on-farm processing facility with milk from their own dairy herd, where the cows are milked and graze on the land. They are proud to make the highest-quality cheese from the milk of their cows. They grow the crops that feed the cows, milk the sweet cows twice a day, and use that rich, creamy milk to make the best cheese. … [Read more...] about It doesn’t get any more farm-fresh than Hinterland Dairy Farmstead

Abby Restko, founder and owner of Glassando Jewelry in Iowa City, discovered her love of Murano glass during college while studying abroad in Venice, Italy. I brought back all of this lovely Murano glass jewelry for my family and friends,” she said. "They were getting stopped by people on the street remarking on how beautiful the jewelry was and how they'd not seen anything like it before.” - Restko Realizing she found something in-demand and unique, Restko opened her jewelry store, Glassando, … [Read more...] about Glassando – Handmade unique jewelry for every occasion

We all know that not all small business owners can survive on just their small business alone. Chelsea is a full time accountant by day, and a small business owner of Simply C's during the rest of her spare time. Simply C's has provided Chelsea with a creative outlet to express herself & her ideas through her unique clay jewelry designs. Her Story City based business has been bringing trendy and unique clay jewelry to customers for a year and a half and maybe someday it will become a full … [Read more...] about Simply C’s Earrings – Anything but simple

Flint River Home Decor is a family business that started in 2017 by Josh and Melissa (Missy) Dean. Their mission is to connect people to handmade home decor that is beautiful, high quality, functional, and simple. They want to help people decorate their homes with rustic decor that will help friends and families connect and enjoy each other’s company. All of their products are handmade, by Josh and Missy, from hardwoods and reclaimed wood. They also offer free customization on several … [Read more...] about Flint River Home Decor – Connecting people to handmade home decor

Inked Regards, a Dubuque based, online handmade greeting card store is bringing simple tokens of kindness and the joy of snail mail back to the present. Initially, Inked Regards owner, Melissa Chipperfield, used her creative skills to make clean and simple greeting card designs to share with fellow crafters. As time went on, she noticed the need for truly unique cards in an overly saturated market of mass production. After designing for several stamp companies and having a design … [Read more...] about Inked Regards – Kindness isn’t complicated

Allison Cabay knows something about herself: she loves to create. After a decade of being a full-time mom, Allison decided to reignite her passion for creating. Full days and nights of child-rearing had been fulfilling in many ways, but the creative passion that had fueled my younger years had faded to embers. I was more than ready to reignite it." - Allison For years, Allison used handmade soaps from farmers' markets because of the very noticeable effect on her skin. She also loved the … [Read more...] about Ember Tree Artisan Soap: The Full-Sensory Experience