“We’re all in different stages of our lives, so we decided to find joy in the stage that we’re in.””

Karmen Cady

WELLMAN

“I never thought I would say the words, ‘I’m going to Wellman to buy a pair of jeans.’”

Isn’t it wonderful when your expectations are exceeded?

Today, thanks to three enterprising women and their supportive families, you can, in fact, go to Wellman to buy a pair of jeans. And you need not stop there; cute tops, shackets, and jewelry are all on offer too. You won’t be able to help emerging stylish, and perhaps, also, simply happy.

Karmen Cady, her daughter Delaney Horning, and her daughter-in-law Jamie Cady are the trio behind the Simple Happiness boutique in downtown Wellman, which opened about six weeks ago on Nov. 16.

“For years, we thought about having a business, and through time, it’s evolved into this,” Karmen says, standing inside the boutique.

The shop is immediately welcoming, with its calming black, white, and gray finishes, complemented by blonde wood shelves and flooring. A mix of home décor and gift items rounds out the fashionable offerings.

“Simple Happiness was the name we were always kind of stuck on,” Karmen continues. “When you look up ‘Cady,’ one of the meanings is ‘simple happiness.’ We’re all in different stages of our lives, so we all just decided to find the joy in the stage we’re in. Find the simple happiness.”

A mother and grandmother, Karmen works as the secretary at Mid-Prairie High School. Jamie works as a nurse and is mom to four children, ages 5, 10, 12, and 15; Delaney is also a nurse and has two children, ages 1 and 3.

The building that houses Simple Happiness is the historic two-story brick beauty that stands at the end of 8th Avenue. Previously referred to as the Starbeck/Miller building for the photography business it once housed, the property was purchased by the City of Wellman in 2017 for $1. Once the city assessed its condition, they planned for its demolition.

“The building was built in 1909,” Jamie says. “That we know of, it has been a dentist’s office, a lawyer’s office, a photography studio, and an insurance office. And it’s always been a home upstairs.”

In mid-2022, Karmen and her husband Patrick approached the city about rehabbing the building. The city was receptive, as restoration of the building would ultimately improve the town and bring in tax revenue. It committed $100,000 toward its rehabilitation and helped secure funding through a state Community Catalyst Building Remediation Grant.

Most of the physical restoration work fell to the men of the Cady clan, but that was by design: Pat owns Pat Cady Construction in Wellman, so it’s kind of his thing. Alongside his sons and son-in-law, Pat worked nights and weekends to help the ladies realize their vision.

The Cadys utilized as many local sources for the project as they could. Materials came from Kalona, appliances from Washington, masonry and roofing from Wellman. The custom deck railing and signage is being created by JFH Metal Signs & Fabrication, also in Wellman.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Karmen says. “My husband’s taken a lot of pride in doing it, and I think he’s even taking more pride in watching us, because we all had our visions, and then they finally just kind of came together.”

Although the boutique is up and running, other business aspects of what is now called the Cady building are still works in progress. Adjacent to the shop space on the ground level is an area kitted out with a kitchen and table space where Karmen, Jamie, and Delaney plan to offer classes.

“This is going to be a community room, because our goal when we renovated the building was to bring the community back into it,” Karmen explains. “We’re going to offer breadmaking classes, we’re going to do morning summer camps for little kids. [Jamie and Delaney] want to do art classes for adults, to hire someone to come down and teach a class. We have so many different ideas.”

On the upper story, a residential space is taking shape that, in a month or so, will be available as a daily or weekly rental on Airbnb. The two-bedroom, one bath space feels fresh and modern, and plentiful windows offer captivating views of downtown. A photographer in the neighborhood has scoped it out for photo shoots, and people have already started calling to reserve the unit.

Although you wouldn’t know it, the building also contains an old, dry basement, and for this, the youngest Cadys have entrepreneurial plans of their own.

“The kids talked about wanting to learn how to grow worms in buckets and sell bait,” Karmen says. “They want to call it ‘Underground Bait and Tackle.’”

Back inside the boutique, there is no idle time for the shopkeepers. Customers come in, look around, ask questions, and make purchases. The ladies have had trouble keeping baby clothes and jewelry in stock; it sells as fast as they get it on the shelves.

The fast pace of sales has taken the trio by surprise, starting with their first official day of business, which coincided with Rural Road Trip. But that’s a good thing, as these weekend retailers look forward to a day when this can be their full-time gig, with their kids nearby, pitching in with pricing or completing their homeschool lessons at the community room table.

If there is a downside to realizing their dreams, it’s combatting the desire to purchase too much of the alluring merchandise for themselves.

“It’s difficult on the self-control,” Jamie concedes.

Visit Simple Happiness at 119 8th Avenue, Wellman. Hours are Fridays 1-6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m to 4 p.m.