Main Street pet business expands to health care field

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - The Main Street district in Fort Madison has a new line of health care clothing and you if need a rabbit or something for your dog..you can get that, too.

Fiona Macken opened Scrub Impresssion last week and is offering name-brand scrubs at small town prices all available just a trek down the street to your local Main Street district.

"When I originally opened DawgsNDivas on May 1 it was originally supplies and training on one side. And this side was a coffee shop...a dog-friendly coffee shop. No one showed up. No one in four months came in. In October I folded it all up and I just used this area for training but it was dead retail space, and I can't afford that. I was talking to my landlord and he suggested I sell scrubs," Macken said.

"I said, 'What does that have to do with dogs?' and he said, 'Nothing'. I sat and thought and thought, and I do have a medical background and the more I thought about it, it made sense. There are only a couple places you can get those in the area. So I wanted to bring something to Fort Madison that was new and needed and health care is certainly a growing industry."

The shop currently features a colorful palate of Barco scrubs, under the brand name of Grey's Anatomy - from the popular television show, as well as Koi.

Macken said Barco and Koi are two brands that have been around for a long time so she wanted to bring in a trusted brand and Barco has recently added designers from Nike and Adidas to make the clothes fitting for the active professional.

Koi was started by a designer from the 90s fashion leader Guess.

"She has scrubs designed for men by men. It has hidden pockets and is made of a wicking material. The pants are really, really nice and have special features for men including Velcro on the back..how may times have you lost your wallet."

"This year's styles are really cute. Lots of things you could just wear on the street and no one would even know. Even the undershirts for ladies that get cold."

Other accessories are offered as well including matching blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, wrist watches with a second hand for counting pulse and even compression socks for long days on your feet.

Macken opened the new side of the business on the east side of the dawgs N Divas location on Feb. 9.

Payment options include traditional methods and also payroll deduction options for companies that would find that process simpler.

"We could set up something where the employees could bring in vouchers from their health care facilities and I would be willing to bill the companies and they could do a payroll deduction," Macken said.

I'm also offering, just in February, a 15% discount on 10 items or more.

The pet supply business and the scrub business are operated just a door apart. A trend that is becoming very popular with older shopping districts like in Keokuk or Mt. Pleasant is to see two or even three different product lines to allow for more convenient shopping.

The pet supplies offered are more health-conscious. Macken will tell you that you should feed your dogs and cats to their natural instincts.

"Cats are carnivores and they really aren't big fans of kibble," Macken said. "And dogs are descendants of wolves so they really would rather eat meat, but in a more natural form."

And although she does have the dry dog and cat food made from all natural ingredients, if you ask her to open the refrigerated section you will find an even more natural, instinctual menu including frozen sardines and wrapped beef and...even a whole rabbit package by expert handlers and prepared for pets.

Scrub Impression and dawgs N Divas are located at 717 Avenue G in Fort Madison's historic Main Street district. You can visit their website at www.dawgsndivas.com.

Scrub Impression is the newest addition to the FM Main Street district, opening last Wednesday. Scrubs by Barco and Koi are offered, as well as small medical goods such as blood pressure cuffs and matching stethoscopes.

 

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Avenue G, dawgs n Divas, downtown, fort madison, main street, new business, scrubs

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