Tallitha Reese

The stars were aligned when Jess Rediske founded Red-Roxy Quilt Co. with her mom, Roxanne Schnitzler, in 2012. From an off-the-cuff horoscope promising an upcoming business venture to a serendipitous email saying the previous local quilt shop was planning to sell, the time felt just right to launch this new venture. Plus, crafting is a life-long love for both. During their first nine years of business in their Downtown Decorah location, the daughter-and-mother duo shared that passion on the daily, building Red-Roxy up to triple its original size, with everything from fabric to tools to classes and more. 

“We try to carry a nice mix of everything quilting and sewing related,” Jess says. “A variety of styles and designs of quilting cottons, flannel, minky/cuddle, etc. Notions, rulers, scissors, and quilting trinkets, if you will. And a full line of BERNINA and Bernette quilting, sewing, and machine embroidery machines. We also offer a calendar chock-full of classes, with a mix of machine owner mastery classes, project-based classes, classes on clothing alterations, and of course beginning quilting.”

All this growth led to some big changes. Roxie was ready to retire early 2022, so Jess bought out her half, and not long after, a larger, better-situated space came up for sale. Jess and her husband took another leap and moved Red-Roxy to its new location on Short Street in Decorah, opening the new doors in February of 2023. 

The gorgeous space is light and airy and encourages folks to linger (the fully stocked beverage station and coffee bar doesn’t hurt either). Customers coming in for that “one piece of fabric” will likely leave with a handful of other fun things as well. Luckily, winter is the perfect time to snuggle in with a project – something Jess enjoys herself.

“My mom has passed on her love of machine embroidery to me, so I enjoy making (and gifting) in-the-hoop projects,” Jess says. “I also cherish our long weekend quilt retreats with my two best friends. I mean sewing, laughing, cocktails, and girl time? What beats that?!?!”

Jess and her husband offer a space perfect for just such a retreat. In addition to Red-Roxy Quilt Co, the Rediske’s own Red’s Retreat & Guesthouse, a retreat house/Airbnb rental located near Downtown Decorah. For quilters, there’s a 1,100-square-foot space that comfortably fits up to 13 quilters on individual tables. 

Jess has advice for people just getting started in the quilting and sewing craft-arena as well: “Find a beginner class or hook up with a friend who knows how to sew / quilt and start there,” Jess says. “And remember, nothing is ever perfect. I’m team done-is-better-than-perfect. Find things that you enjoy doing and find the time to do it. Creating by sewing and quilting is a form of therapy and is so good for the soul. Start small. There’s satisfaction to quick, easy projects that don’t take a ton of time!”

The Basics:
Name: Jessica (Jess) Rediske
Age: 42
Business: Red-Roxy Quilt Co
Year Business Established: 2012
Business address: 804 Short St, Decorah
Website: redroxyquiltco.com

Tell us about the “leap” moment. When/how did you decide to jump in and become your own boss?

In the fall of 2012, Roxie, my mom and previous business partner – now retired – was on medical leave from her job as the Assistant Jail administrator for Winneshiek County. One fateful day she was sitting in the chair at the salon and the girls were reading their horoscopes. Roxie, not being very superstitious, said sure, read hers. “A business venture will be heading your way soon.” That night when she got home, the first email in her inbox was from Pine Needles saying they were putting the Decorah store up for sale. She excitedly called me right away, as she’s always dreamed of owning a “fabric store.” I was sitting at a high school volleyball game and said, “Let’s check it out!” 

On December 31, 2012, Roxie and I signed on the dotted line and Red-Roxy Quilt Co was formed. Red, for my last name Rediske, and of course Roxy is for Roxie. For the next nine years, we worked in tandem to more than triple the size of Red-Roxy. Roxie was our creative genius, and I, having worked at a local bank in the lending department for eight years, focused on the business-end as well as being the technician for sewing machine maintenance and repair. On January 1, 2022, Roxie semi-retired and I bought out her half. Roxie still teaches and is found working a few days a week. Later that year, the opportunity came up for my husband Eric and I to purchase a new location for the shop and we jumped at it. On February 16, 2023, Red-Roxy Quilt Co. opened its doors at our new location. It has easier accessibility and parking, about 500 additional square feet, tons of natural light, with high ceilings to display quilts in full, and a beautiful, dedicated classroom space for teaching not only in-person but virtually as well. 

What’s the best thing about being your own boss?

I love the flexibility being an owner gives. Not that I get to come and go as I please, but I can work longer hours some days to be able to take other days off as I see fit. It’s also so rewarding to look back and see where we have come from to where we are now as a business.

How about the worst?

Waking up at any and all hours of the night with business things on my mind!

Was there ever a hurdle where you just thought, “I can’t do this?” How did you overcome it?

Oh gosh I think there probably has been many over the years but having a good work ethic and surrounding myself with good staff and my “circle” to help talk me through things and off ledges has been huge! And the quickest way to get things done is to just do it!

Any mentors/role models you look to/have looked to?

I’m blessed to have the former Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce director Kristina Wiltgen as not only my best friend but now my marketing guru. Remember that ledge I need talking off occasionally? She’s brilliant with great ideas that I respect in many different aspects of my retail business and in life.

What’s the one thing you wish you had known before you started?

Mom and I seriously jumped in blind. I would have never thought how much behind-the-scenes work there is to owning a retail business. I kinda thought we’d just get to help the customers pick out beautiful fabric or find the perfect sewing machine. Little did I know there would be inventory management, accounts payable, bookkeeping, ordering, sales tax, marketing, etc. that would also need to get done! I pretty much spend my days behind a computer. Getting to help customers is always a bright spot in my day.

How do you manage your life/work balance?

I like to say work hard, play harder. It’s all about time management and allowing myself to take the personal time I need away from the business. Scheduling days to work from home has been a good way to help keep the balance. I also believe putting your own personal health and wellness as a priority trickles down to everything else you do in life. Eating well, physical activity, fresh air, and the occasional cocktail or glass of wine are my keys!

What keeps you inspired? Any quotes that keep you going?

We are fortunate to have a BERNINA sewing machine convention on an annual basis, as well as a quilt market once a year that provides lots of inspiration and continuing education. Also forging strong relationships with our vendors that I can lean on for ideas and support when I need. Mom embroidered me a sign early on in our venture: Put on your big girl panties & deal with it. I’m a firm believer that I can’t make employees do things that I wouldn’t do.

For many years, tattooing was synonymous with masculinity. Tattoos were often associated with the military or prison, and tattoo shops were run by men. But in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Missy Hoch is evening out the industry with her brand of female energy as the owner and operator of Gold Heart Tattoo, a tattoo shop on the city’s northside.  

When Missy was growing up on her family’s apple orchard outside of La Crescent, Minnesota, her exposure to tattoos was mostly through those adorning Hoch Orchard’s seasonal employees. “We had a lot of people working there from all walks of life,” she says, which meant a variety of tattoos and styles. Her interest in the artform only grew from there, and she got her first tattoo on her 18th birthday. She hasn’t stopped since, “I don’t think I’ve gone longer than six months without getting a tattoo.” 

A lover of the arts, Missy attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout. After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2012, she came back home to La Crosse to pursue a career in tattoos. Within a year, she was working at the front desk of a local shop and then started an apprenticeship. “As soon as I was given a tattoo machine, I tattooed all the time,” she says. 

A decade ago, female tattoo artists were almost non-existent in the area, Missy says. She estimates that the ratio was 30 male artists to one or two female artists, including herself. “I had plenty of clients that would come in and say, ‘Oh wait, a girl’s tattooing?’ I even had a guy tell me that tattoos are for boys as I’m standing in front of him with my own tattoos.” 

She equates it to the former notion that nursing was meant to be a profession only for women. But she’s starting to see a change. “Now it’s much closer to 50/50,” she says. “I am so grateful that we’re evolving.” 

When Missy opened Gold Heart Tattoo in 2018, she found herself holding not only the title of artist, but business owner as well. It suits her, even when sometimes it means carrying the burden of the industry’s gender norms. “Being a woman in a male dominated field comes with a million pounds of things you have to deal with,” she says. 

“As a female business owner, there is this perception that you don’t have it together and people will try to strong arm you. But I’m lucky to have a support system of female business owners and other women in tattooing.” 

She attributes some of this determination to being raised by business owners. Missy watched her parents run their orchard and learned from a young age that “if you want something, you just have to go and do it.” She has enjoyed doing just that for the last five years, taking control of her career and her space.

This “go for it” mentality has followed Gold Heart Tattoo from its first location to its new one, opened in the summer of 2023 just down the block on Caledonia Street. When Missy got the opportunity to purchase the building – one that needed a little love – she jumped, or one might say climbed…14 feet in the air, in fact, to paint the exterior walls. The work has paid off; The space has been transformed into the airy, welcoming, disco-ball-adorned environment she envisioned. It’s “a space I want to hang out in,” she says.

Joining Missy in the space are three male artists – Zane Decker, Mike Marty, and Landon Sheely. They are independent contractors, but together, the four artists are a family. And though tattoo shops aren’t necessarily the first place you think of when you think of family-friendly businesses, Gold Heart is a welcoming space for everyone. “These guys don’t have any of the issues of the ultra-masculine industry,” Missy says. Instead, they bring great ideas and an abundance of dad jokes. “We always say the shop should be called, ‘Old Dad’s Tats’ or ‘Three Dads and a Stepmom,’” Missy laughs. “Nothing is ever super serious here.” 

Missy appreciates their input and each of their individual skills. “All of us have our own fortes,” she explains. They push each other as artists, bouncing ideas and techniques off each other. “We are constantly looking at each other’s work,” she says. “We all design using Procreate on our iPads so we’ll watch and say, ‘Oh, that’s how you’re stenciling that.’” The work done at Gold Heart is more collaborative than competitive, with clients often rotating between artists. 

Beyond the welcoming, lived-in space the crew is creating inside the Gold Heart Tattoo doors, Missy is excited for the outdoor opportunities the new location offers as well. With a large parking lot and some adjacent green space, she’d like to host outdoor events, possibly even a seasonal art market. She hopes it will also benefit nearby small business owners that, like her, are helping to revitalize their northside neighborhood. “It really feels like the energy on this street is on the precipice of being more art- and small business-focused,” she says. They’ve reminisced about block parties of years past, and now, Missy is hoping these types of events can become a reality. “I’m excited to work with other businesses to amp that up a little more on this side of town,” she says. 

When it comes to actually tattooing, Missy’s current interests lie in colorful, illustrative designs. She supplemented her work during the pandemic by doing commissioned pet portraits, and that has overflowed into her tattooing. “I really enjoy tattooing people’s pets,” Missy says. 

She also loves pop culture references, particularly anything that she can have a little creative freedom with. “The weirder the better,” she laughs. “If you give me an inch, I’m taking a mile.” From a Harry Styles mermaid to Golden Girls cats, Missy loves to make it creative. “I am going to try to get it as original to you as I can and I’m also going to make it bizarre and hilarious.”

For the time being, this is where Missy is focused. “Right now, it’s about living in this space and experiencing that and just tattooing,” she says. And it’s a great place to be – in a new home with her tattoo family, welcoming clients in the best way. “We want to make sure you get a good tattoo but also have a good time getting a tattoo.” 

Sara Walters

Sara is a mom and writer living in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She has been an Inspire(d) contributor since 2018.  

“Laundromats have a bad reputation, and frankly, many deserve it,” says Laura Patten, co-owner of County Seat Laundry in Viroqua, Wisconsin. “They’re dirty, machines are out of order. A flickering TV blares at you from high on a wall. And the whole time you get a sinking feeling that you and your things aren’t safe.” 

But that’s not the case at County Seat Laundry, where, in 2018, Laura and Andy Patten founded the business with the simple promise of making people’s wash day better. 

“We do that in all kinds of ways,” explains Laura. “By cleaning and sanitizing machines and surfaces throughout the day so that people can actually enjoy their experience. By cheerfully greeting people and playing cool music that puts everyone in a better mood. By offering services that people value. By maintaining our machines so people can get in and out quickly. And –perhaps this the most important – by taking care of one another.”

The husband-and-wife duo moved from Milwaukee to Ferryville, Wisconsin, in 2016, and selected Viroqua – the county seat of Vernon County – as the site for their laundromat due to it being a “vibrant community that respects its roots yet is forward-focused,” Laura says.

“There always have been so many great things going on in this area, but we also envisioned many more to come, especially in food manufacturing, hospitality and tourism,” she continues. “We saw Viroqua as a town that believed in itself and its future.”

Before opening the County Seat laundry doors, the Pattens spent more than a year on a business plan, which included visiting every laundromat in the general area and one in Milwaukee. 

“We watched people’s behavior and listened to conversations and took notes on what seemed to bug people and what people liked,” explains Laura. “Then we designed our place with those insights in mind.”

County Seat Laundry is a full-service laundromat where customers can utilize washers and dryers themselves or have their laundry done for them. Natural light streams through the building’s large windows, and games and a free bookshelf offer downtime entertainment while people wait for their loads of laundry to be finished. Laura and Andy are also onsite themselves six days a week. 

“People say they like having us there, helping people while we process orders. Our laundry attendants also keep the good vibe going by interacting with people,” explains Laura. “Interestingly, our customers do that as well, for strangers and acquaintances alike. We often say that we own the business, but that it belongs to our customers.”

While County Seat Laundry has definitely found its place in the community of Viroqua over the past several years, at first there were some hurdles to overcome. 

“Viroqua is a tightknit community, and no one knew us, given that we live in Ferryville and have been full-timers since only 2016,” says Laura. “Patten isn’t a common name around here, either so we got a lot of politely worded ‘who are you and where did you come from?’ questions at first.”

In addition to the task of settling into a small tight-knit area as newcomers, the Pattens also had to overcome some attitudes of doubt in regard to the nature of their business. 

“We knew that some people scoffed at it,” says Laura. “We heard, ‘Who can’t do their own laundry?’ a lot in the beginning. So, we explained over and over that many people need a hand with laundry, such as people with mobility issues, small business owners, busy people, those working multiple jobs and even people who hate doing laundry so much that it piles up. Clean laundry is essential, like food and shelter.”

The Pattens soon discovered that while their laundromat didn’t appeal to everyone, it did have an essential place within the community. 

When much of the area was struck by disastrous flooding in August of 2018, County Seat Laundry was only six weeks old, but it soon became a vital place for many. 

“While we were still getting to know our machines and how to present our business to customers, suddenly we were ‘on’ when people, often in tears and shock, came rushing in to try and salvage what belongings they could,” says Laura. “They came in with nothing, so we offered free supplies and our time, and then a donor stepped up and put money on our laundry cards and handed them out in several towns. It was a tragic time, yet inspiring. People were so good to one another.”

After the flooding came a polar vortex, and then a world-wide pandemic. For the first several years of operation, County Seat Laundry and the Pattens didn’t have “normal” rhythms or patterns to follow, but they continued to offer the community what they could – even above-and-beyond their typical business services. 

“We used our own money and started the County Seat Laundry Fund in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic as a bridge for people who lost their primary income,” explains Laura. “When people heard about the fund, donations started coming in and it evolved into a community-powered effort to keep it going – and it still is. People donate, we discount the washer pricing, and anyone in dire need of clean laundry can wash and dry a few loads free. So far, the fund has paid for well over 2,500 loads.”

County Seat Laundry also offers daily discounts and a loyalty program that helps people stretch their money with bonus bucks and free dries. 

“But despite all the financial help we offer, our customers help set us apart in the way they treat one another,” says Laura. “Our customers seem to understand and value that at County Seat Laundry, respect matters. Kindness matters. People are treated like neighbors here – because we all are.”

The support of those neighbors and the community has also led to the success of a related venture that grew from County Seat Laundry: Soap Sister, a natural laundry powder detergent developed by Laura herself. 

“We go through a lot of detergent. Most brands don’t really meet our high standards, though, especially the so-called natural formulas,” says Laura. “All those wasteful plastic bottles really bug us too. So, I started experimenting with my own concoction in the summer of 2022.”

Laura, who says she was never into science as a kid and could usually be found reading, daydreaming, or playing outside, now found herself researching how soap works and what different ingredients go in laundry detergent in order to start her own experimentation process. 

“I mixed, tested, and tweaked, no fewer than 20 times. I even found the courage to ask strangers and customers to sample my powdered mix and give me feedback. I listened and tweaked some more,” Laura says. “Finally, I settled on a recipe that performed the way I’d hoped, featuring just five ingredients to leave laundry fresh, bright, soft, unscented, and naturally clean.”

Laura mixes approximately 35 pounds of Soap Sister detergent each week for use at County Seat Laundry and also sells two-pound packages to boutiques and co-ops in Viroqua, Gays Mills, Menomonie, and Eau Claire. 

“I also sell Soap Sister pouches and refills at the laundry,” says Laura. “Soap Sister has developed its own following so now I’m focusing on growth.”

With the holidays approaching Laura has been planning a Soap Sister gift pack featuring a beautiful hand-crafted glazed scoop and hand felted dryer balls made from the wool of the Pattens own sheep. 

“I’m also always looking for new retail partners whose customers are trying to reduce plastic and are searching for an effective, natural laundry powder,” says Laura. “And, of course, I am experimenting with other extensions of the business because I can’t seem to help myself.”

Having worked to develop an atmosphere of a caring community within County Seat Laundry, Laura notes that technically a community is just defined as a group of people with something in common (like geography), but it’s the relationships formed between and among people that really defines a community and makes it great. Each of us has the power to strengthen the fabric of our community, she adds. 

“I feel the need to express gratitude,” she says. “I often think about how lucky we all are to have opportunities to create right here in this inspiring little corner of the world, and how no new thing – whether it’s building a full-service laundry in a rural-ish community or making and selling a natural laundry powder – is possible without the support of friends, customers, and complete strangers.”

Tallitha Reese

Tallitha Reese is a freelance writer and content manager based in Cashton, WI. She owns Words By Reese and you can find out more about her and her work at www.wordsbyreese.com.