A new shop on Jewell’s Main Street is practically bursting with color and personality.
The vintage store Uncommon Digs, 630 Main St., will officially open Friday, Sept. 26 with the beginning of the Fall Junk Jaunt weekend, then will be open Saturdays and Sundays.
Owner Laurie Delebreau has loved décor and vintage items since she was a kid.
Delebreau’s love of interior decorating is practically genetic. One of her grandfathers started a business in Webster City and both of her grandmothers also loved décor.
When she stayed with her grandparents in Webster City, Delebreau would do little chores to make 50 cents or a dollar.
“My grandpa would tell me to ride my bike into town and buy a candy bar or whatever I wanted. I would ride my bike to the antique store,” she said.
She came home with things like a little tintype picture or a beautiful vase that needed some mending.
“In my free time, I would constantly dig in the junk piles. People would throw their garbage in the ditch and I would pull things out,” she said.
Delebreau and her friends would play games where they had to find junk items to help them “survive.”
Friend connection leads to new shop, home
Delebreau grew up just a few miles from Joan and Grant Fairchild, who owned Gravy Home Goods, a popular décor store that preceded Uncommon Digs. As Delebreau and her husband Jerry considered their retirement plans, she decided to retire and spend more time with her mom while Jerry finished another year of working in Green Bay.
Delebreau reached out to Grant Fairchild to see if he was aware of a place she could live in Jewell. The apartment above the store was available as he and Joan were retiring and moving to Minnesota. The store would be available, too.
It was serendipitous. Now Delebreau’s shop is ready to open in time for the Fall Junk Jaunt, which will be held Sept. 26-28. And she is redecorating the upstairs apartment to reflect her vintage style.
“I’m more Mid-Century Modern, but I really don’t discriminate against the eras. There are things from every time frame that tell a story — what’s happening in the world at that time, what people were going through, and what were the things they looked for — for beauty or convenience,” Delebreau said.
For example, by the mid-1960s, people were entertaining more. Holding card parties was a big trend, and it was important to have festive serving sets for coffee, lemonade and cocktails.
At Uncommon Digs, customers will find the store decorated in small vignettes with an abundance of artwork on the walls. A beautiful abstract mural behind the cash register isn’t for sale, though. Painted by Delebreau’s friend Becky Kafka of Wisconsin, the beautiful mural is one of the highlights of the store, offering a colorful backdrop in a sea of treasures.
Gravy Home Goods owners welcome Uncommon Digs
Joan and Grant Fairchild had a soft close of Gravy Home Goods in April.
They had a final weekend and closed shop knowing they had Delebreau coming in soon. They wanted her to have time to start imagining her store well before the sale of the building was finalized, Grant said.
“We are thrilled to have Laurie and Uncommon Digs in Jewell!” Grant said. “She’s got a fantastic aesthetic that nicely complements the other stores on Main Street and helps broaden the appeal of the vintage vibe everyone has worked so hard to establish.
“Plus, she’s great with people and has retail and design experience — she’s definitely bringing another great store to town.”
“I wouldn’t be here without my friends,” Delebreau said.
Background in interior design, vintage store management helped create Uncommon Digs
Delebreau grew up in Stratford, moved to a farm near Pilot Mound her senior year and graduated from Grand Community High School.
In 1985, she married Jerry Delebreau and the couple moved to Green Bay, where they raised four kids.
“I’ve had a lot of different careers,” Delebreau said.
She worked as a research scientist for a paper company for 14 years and worked at a grain mill for 12 years.
“Then I was a manager of St. Vincent de Paul thrift store,” she said. “I’ve always loved vintage and I’ve always loved décor, so I got a lot of experience with secondhand things that were donated.”
Delebreau also worked on the thrift store’s window displays and endcaps, putting together eye-catching combinations and learning how to price items.
After leaving the thrift shop, Delebreau worked at a flooring and interior design store, where she honed her design skills.
“It taught me a lot of things you don’t think of when you’re just decorating your own home,” she said. “There are fundamental things and more technical things to think about when you’re putting together things with color or with texture.”
Delebreau has personally selected all the items for sale in her store, making purchases at thrift stores and estate sales. She doesn’t currently feature any items on consignment.
Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rfaaborg@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Uncommon Digs in Jewell brings big personality to small-town Main Street
Reporting by Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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