A country-chic boutique in Dixon

DIXON – Things just keep getting bigger and better for Amy Nicklaus.

The owner of Rustic Roots Home and Decor in Dixon started her business out of her home before moving to her own storefront at 734 N. Galena Ave. But don’t plug that location into your address book just yet. Soon, Nicklaus’ homegrown business will grow even more when she moves to her new location.

Rustic Roots opened over Mother’s Day weekend at its Galena Avenue location, next to Weeds, Florals, Designs and Decor, and it’s become a go-to place for popular “country chic” decor – think HGTV’s popular series “Fixer Upper,” with a twist. Now, after only a few months, the business is on the move. Rustic Roots Home and Decor will have a grand opening Oct. 6-8 at its new, larger location at 725 N. Brinton Ave.

She said the new location’s showroom will be more than 2,500 square feet, which will allow her to not only expand her furniture selection, but offer new items, too, including handmade jewelry and bags.

Nicklaus’ business took root when, after months of creating and selling her work out of her home, she decided it was time to have a space where she could create and sell. That’s when she found a home for business on Galena Avenue.

It didn’t take long for her quaint shop to become filled with dozens of handmade signs, revamped pieces of furniture, and various knick knacks. She creates, designs and revamps each item herself, for that special, personalized look.

Nicklaus, 28, defines her style as country chic, with a modern twist.

“This is popular right now; it’s in style,” she said. “I specialize in handmade signs, but I also do tables, kids tables, benches – just about anything.”

She gets a lot of inspiration from “Fixer Upper” – she and host Joanna Gaines have similar styles. In fact, the walls of her store are lined with white ship lap – a Gaines trademark.

“I love to see the new products I created all set up in the store. I don’t want anything to sell because it looks so cute the way it is,” Nicklaus said with a laugh. “When I get done with these signs, I love the way it looks, it’s very rewarding.”

One her favorite parts of having a building in which to run her business is the social interaction with her customers.

“I love just being able to talk with the customers,” Nicklaus said. “That’s one reason why I wanted a shop, because it gets kind of lonely just being at home making this stuff, and I’m a big people person, so I love having the customers come in and stay and chat for a while.”

Despite the newness of her store, Nicklaus is already building an impressive customer base – “Business is very good. I’m trying to keep up,” she said – and she’s already racked up more than 5,000 likes on her Facebook page. “I don’t know how I got all those likes, but I really appreciate it.”

She also offers workshops in which she teaches participants how to make specific pieces. A recent one consisted of teaching her customers how to create a wooden welcome sign accented with a mason jar.

“It’s a lot of preparation, but a lot of fun,” Nicklaus said. “When I do workshops now I just hold them in the shop with 20 to 25 people.”

Another big inspiration for Nicklaus is her family. Her 5-year-old daughter, Emma, was the impetus behind her decision to offer craft workshops for kids, where they create things like dream catchers or miniature fairy gardens.

“My daughter loves doing this kind of stuff, so she was so excited when I started doing this stuff with her in mind,” Nicklaus said. “She is my biggest supporter. Every time I create a new sign, she says ‘I love that sign, Mom!’”

She can’t wait to see how her Rustic Roots will grow.

“I definitely want to expand and grow; eventually, I’d love to make it into a decor shop/coffee shop type of thing,” Nicklaus said, though she added doesn’t really have a plan in place for that right now.

But that’s OK, because in the meantime, she said, “I’m just enjoying what I’m doing.”

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