May 18, 2024
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St. Charles businesses band together for second annual STC Shop Crawl

By Eric Schelkopf
Deborah Giampapa and her daughter, Gianna Giampapa-Curtis will op.en Boutique Baby at 92 S. 1st St. in doowntown St. Charles Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022.

Deborah Giampapa and her daughter, Gianna Giampapa-Curtis, opened Boutique Baby at 92 S. 1st St. in downtown St. Charles. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com)

For those who like to shop and support local businesses, St. Charles business owners Karri Custardo and Shannon Peppeard have an event just for you.

Custardo, co-owner of Trend + Relic, and Peppeard, owner of The Pep Line, have organized the St. Charles Shop Crawl, which will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 15-16. This is the second year of the event.

“We noticed that more and more little shops were popping up, and being small shop owners ourselves, we thought we could reach out and see what we could do,” Peppeard said. “It also is a way to develop a camaraderie among small business owners and develop a support system.”

The Pep Line carries much of the furniture and decor that Peppeard uses when designing and styling clients’ homes.

Trend + Relic sells new and vintage decor, including handcrafted items. The business has about 50 vendors.

The St. Charles Shop Crawl will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 15-16. This is the second year of the event.

The St. Charles Shop Crawl will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 15-16. This is the second year of the event. (Graphic provided)

“It worked out really nicely last year,” Peppeard said. “Other shops were really excited for Karri and I to get it started and I think this year we’re anticipating an even bigger crowd.”

This year’s event will feature two businesses that recently opened in downtown St. Charles – Boutique Baby and MION Artisan Soap Co.

The Pep Line and Trend + Relic also will participate, along with Circa Vintage Gallery, Double Take Consignment, Industrial Treasures, Jeans & a Cute Top Shop, Magnolia Soap and Bath Co. and SG Too.

Those who buy an item at one of the participating shops will be entered to win a raffle grand prize – a gift basket full of items from all participating shops as well as a free dinner for two at The Graceful Ordinary restaurant in downtown St. Charles.

There will be several pop-up vendors – including food and drink vendors – at the Pep Line, Trend + Relic and other businesses.

“We want to make it an overall experience for the shoppers,” Peppeard said.

One of the pop-up vendors at The Pep Line will be The Modern Domestic Woman, which will be selling Pilea plants with all of the proceeds going to Refuge for Women, a nonprofit organization that supports women who have escaped from human trafficking or sexual exploitation.

In addition, businesses in downtown St. Charles, including Smallcakes and Kimmer’s Ice Cream, will be having specials that weekend.

Custardo and Peppeard both hope the St. Charles Shop Crawl will be an event that is held every year long into the future.

“We plan on continuing it and have talked about it going to a bigger platform,” Peppeard said.

They hope the St. Charles Shop Crawl will create new customers for the stores participating in the event.

“They are getting an opportunity to see other stores that they might not have necessarily known about or had a chance to visit yet,” Custardo said.

Information about the St. Charles Shop Crawl is available at https://thepepline.com/pages/stc-shop-crawl.

St. CharlesKane County