There are several new businesses popping up in the downtown area. One of these new businesses is a unique fashion boutique, Ophelia, which opened in early June. With its fashion forward designs and vast assortment of clothing, shoes, jewelry and gifts, Ophelia has something to offer for women of all ages. From trendy pieces to basic staples, the store only carries six of each individual item, allowing for new styles to be brought in daily. Ophelia also has a line of all natural bath and body products called KIND, which come from Webster Groves, Missouri.

Ophelia’s original location is in downtown Farmington, Missouri. In June of 2013, Patrice Parson had an opportunity to purchase Ophelia after hearing that it was going out of business. “I decided to start a new adventure into owning a business when the previous owner approached me with the chance to buy the store. I was so excited about the new adventure, but also scared to lose my shopping place so I decided that being a new business owner was a new adventure I was ready for”. Not long after purchasing the Farmington location, Patrice and her husband new that they wanted to expand. Being a Southeast Missouri State University graduate and a former resident of Cape Girardeau, Patrice was very familiar with the Cape Girardeau area. After making several trips to downtown Cape Girardeau and visiting with several downtown business owners, they began to start the search for the perfect building for their new boutique. With the help of Old Town Cape, Patrice and her husband were able to find the perfect location for their second store.

Ophelia is located at 125 North Main Street. For more information about their store, check out their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OpheliaCapeGirardeau.

This post was contributed to by Claire Bruce, owner of Sloan + Themis.

The bond between a mother and her child is indescribable. But, what about the bond between mothers and daughters in business...together? In celebration of Mother's Day, here's what it's like to share that indescribable bond in both life and business while working as a mom-daughter team in downtown Cape.

Pastimes Antiques - Deb Maevers and Kyleigh Baliva

"This whole store wouldn't have been in my wildest dream. But, us working together? It's been fun. I would enjoy working with her whether she was daughter or not," says Deb , owner of Pastimes Antiques when asked about working with her daughter, Kyleigh.

Deb and Kyleigh have worked together on several ambitious projects. Not only does the mother-daughter team manage one of downtown's largest antique stores, they've embarked on the Vintage Now Fashion Show. Vintage Now, started in 2009, is an annual fundraiser that brings together their love of vintage fashion and helping women via the local safe house.

Both ladies bring their own energy and specialties to the business, which add to their favorite parts of working with one another. "We can be silly together and make fun things," says Kyleigh.

Kyleigh said they can be put into any situation and are able to know what the other is thinking. In the business of vintage and antique wares, one never knows exactly what may come through the door. The pair prepares well together to handle anything and everything as a team, right down to reading each other's minds according to Deb. "I do some things before I know she wants me to do it," said Kyleigh.

Deb and Kyleigh's relationship has grown even closer having worked together since 2003. Deb's extensive work with interior design has been passed down to Kyleigh over the last several years. "I used to do all the windows, and now mostly she does them all. She's become a great window display artist," said Deb.

Time spent together working at Pastimes is invaluable to both ladies. Catching up with one another is easier at the store, providing an opportunity that otherwise may not be as easy to come by. "She's my best friend; I don't know what I would do without her," said Deb.

Stash - Jill and Emily Hoehne

In fall 2012, downtowners got some new neighbors when mother-daughter team Jill and Emily Hoehne opened Stash on Main Street. With a mix of brightly colored frocks and hip accessories, the boutique was an instant hit.

"It was always my dream to open a shop, and the stars aligned to make it happen," said Emily. Emily has managed retail shops in the St. Louis area for several years before returning to the Cape Girardeau area to earn her degree. Around the time Emily graduated, Jill had the opportunity to retire, then both mother and daughter were able to start a new adventure together.

The Hoehnes found that taking turns was key in making it all work. They worked together designing and building the shop. From scouting out vintage accents, constructing displays, refinishing tables, and hanging and steaming clothes, mother and daughter shared tasks and business decisions. Today, they still distribute the workload 50/50 in the store. Emily is the planner and the buyer who travels several times a year to market in Los Angeles and Dallas. Outgoing Jill has found her strength in styling and helping find the perfect look. "I love meeting all the new people and learning their stores, what their likes and dislikes are," said Jill.

Not only have the Hoehnes made a big impact on Cape's fashion scene, downtown has made an impact on their family. If you have every shopped at Stash, you know it is truly a family business. In one of the dressing rooms hangs a photo of Jill's mother, who provides shoppers with inspiration for grace and elegance. Emily also often brings her son to work. "I like that my son, Adrik, can see people working hard and succeeding. It teaches him the value of a dollar," said Emily. Recently Adrik even raised money for his school by making bracelets and selling them at Stash. Business savvy definitely runs in the Hoehne family.

This post is written by guest blogger, Stacy Dohogne-Lane, Director of Public Relations at the Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau.

After several failed attempts at teaching myself to crochet using books checked out from the library and Youtube videos, I decided that in-person instruction would be my best bet at learning to crochet - my failed resolution from 2013 that I was determined to make happen in 2014. Better late than never, right?

A new yarn shop opened downtown on Independence and I heard from someone that they had crochet classes. A Facebook message and an e-mail later, and I was acquainted with Dawn, the owner of Yearning 4 Yarn at 208 Independence, next door to Dynamite Coffee. Dawn said that she would be happy to teach my sister and I how to crochet, and that we could come in on two Tuesday evenings of our choice for Crochet 101.

My sister Alli and I arrived for a first class and immediately loved Dawn's cozy shop; you can't help by sink your fingers into all of the beautiful yarn in such pretty colors. Dawn had project boxes with a crochet stitch booklet and practice yarn ready for us, and we got right down to business learning how to hold the hook and the yarn. An hour later and we were both single crocheting along and chatting with Dawn, who has schnauzers named after Harry Potter characters (Alli and I are huge Harry Potter fans...and we both have schnauzers. Match made in heaven?) When we'd do something that was obviously wrong (I think I invented a stitch?) Dawn would nicely say "you got really creative here" and was very encouraging. By the end of the first lesson, Alli and I could each get a foundation chain going and knew how to single and double crochet. Not too shabby for an hour and a half!

In the weeks between our first and second lesson, Allison and I practiced until we were comfortable with single and double crochet. When we arrived for our second crochet class, Dawn helped guide us in the right direction for our first projects and showed us how to read a crochet pattern. Dawn told us to stop in anytime if we got stuck with a project and I eyed that pretty yarn with new designs swirling in my head.

A few weeks later, Allison and I dropped by wearing our brand new, crocheted-by-us scarves. Learning how to crochet with Dawn and my sister was so much fun, and I can't wait to pick out the yarn for my next project at Yearning 4 Yarn. Dawn also teaches knitting and spinning classes!