What started out as a “creative outlet” has turned into a retail outlet for “vintage, antique and modern” home decor in La Grange.
Swell House, 46 S. La Grange Road, has been open with limited hours since mid-April and had its Grand Opening June 3.
“I wanted a local place here in La Grange where people could find warm timeless pieces that they could feel proud bringing into their homes and pass down to their kids,” owner Jessica Engledow said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Engledow grew up nearby in Hinsdale, graduated from Hinsdale Central High School, and graduated from DePaul University with degrees in communications and education.
She lives in La Grange with her husband, Scott, a tech consultant, whom she met in Colorado when they were both living and working there.
Nothing in her educational background included retail or home furnishings, but she was always drawn to it.
“It was always a bit of a personal interest,” she said. “Since I was a little girl my mom used to take me into antique stores and I always loved the treasure hunt aspect of it. In the last few years I started incorporating vintage antiques into our home.
“I would call it a passion project. It started as kind of a creative outlet for me. When my husband and I were talking about me going back to work, we were looking at me returning to the corporate world, and that didn’t appeal to us for a number of reasons.”
But Engledow has found that self-employment has its own challenges.
“Not that starting your own business is for the faint of heart, but it does allow a little bit more flexibility and different avenues to pursue outside of work,” she said. “There’s going to be the stress aspect of it, the unknown in general — also in the financial sense — but it’s also exciting and motivating to pursue something that I’m passionate about and allows me to be creative and experiment a little bit.”
While she doesn’t limit her merchandise to one particular area, she is “very drawn to nature themes, so a lot of floral, natural elements, animals, and things like that,” she said. “One personal product that I love is antique books. I’m trying to start a little collection of my own of 18th century and older books. It’s incredible that they’ve managed to survive that long.”
Wendy West, president of the La Grange Business Association, said Swell House will be “a great addition to our town.”
For one thing the business is helping to replace others that have left several open storefronts in La Grange’s downtown area, she said.
“As far as I can see, there are a couple that are empty still,” she said. “It would be nice to fill those and bring in some new folks. This is a great start. This is beautiful.”
Karyn Denten, owner of Den10 Fine Art Gallery, 16 S. Stone Ave., was on hand to welcome Engledow to the downtown business district, saying there’s synchronicity inherent in small-town retail communities.
“I love the partnership, especially with the Spring Stroll, things like that,” she said. “I just want to help support the town. We have a good support system here with the community and the LGBA.”
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
