Changing pebbles to pearls

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(from left) Sherry Kancs and Dace Abeltins have opened Pebbles to Pearls Boutique in Westfield.
(from left) Sherry Kancs and Dace Abeltins have opened Pebbles to Pearls Boutique in Westfield.

By Mark Ambrogi

After being laid off from her job of 28 years at an insurance company nearly a year ago, Sherry Kancs contemplated her next move with her recently retired friend Dace Abeltins.

“We talked about what we wanted to do when we grew up,” said the 56-year-old Kancs with a laugh. “We both always wanted to open a boutique or resale store. So we did.”

The women, friends for nearly 20 years, recently opened Pebbles to Pearls Boutique, a store with vintage items, in Westfield on 108 E. Main St. The store had its official grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 25.

“Dace has done an excellent job with the staging of the room,” said Kancs, a Carmel resident. “We are a store full of very unique vintage and antique items, some retro. Our products change quite a bit. Most of the items are ours that we’ve shopped for and brought, but we have a few consignment items now.”

The store had a soft opening during the Grand Junction Derby and Street Festival on Oct. 4.

While Kancs has not worked in retail before, Abeltins has 30-plus years of experience. Abeltins, 66, started worked for L.S. Ayres (now Macy’s) in high school. She also worked for now-defunct Block’s in Indianapolis and some smaller shops in Indiana. She also worked for Bloomingdale’s in New York for a few years. She was working for the Indiana Supreme Court when she retired.

“I was looking for something to reinvent myself and this came along and it’s been wonderful,” said Abeltins, who lives in downtown Indianapolis. “I think Westfield is a very up-and-coming area.”

Kancs is optimistic, too.

“We know it’s growing so it’s going to be very successful, I think,” Kancs said. “So I think we’re in good shape.”

Westfield City Council President Jim Ake, who helped with the ribbon-cutting ceremony, said the boutique is a welcome addition to the downtown district.


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