Jan. 7, 2022

Two friends and co-workers who noticed a lack of local clothing options for expecting mothers solved it by opening their own maternity and children’s shop.

The Stork Shoppe is at 305 W. Willow St. in Harrisburg in a space shared with Lava’s Coffee and The Sandlot indoor sand and sensory park.

Owners Kelly Cleveringa and Kari Joldersma have been friends for more than a decade, and both were disappointed when a chain maternity store closed at The Empire Mall.

“One of the fun things about expecting a baby is getting to go buy new clothes to change your changing body,” Cleveringa said.

Their husbands are friends as well and have helped as “unpaid buildings and financial advisers,” she added.

The business began online and with pop-up shops, as both work full time and have young children.

“We had watched our favorite boutique, Beautique out of Brandon, start from their home and grow enormously so decided to follow that model,” Cleveringa said. “Retail space can be expensive, and with our constantly changing customer base, we wanted to get an idea of what to expect by starting out small.”

When they were ready for retail space, they decided to co-locate with other businesses.

“We didn’t choose Harrisburg for a business. Harrisburg chose us,” Cleveringa said.

While doing pop-up events, they reached out to places where kids and parents gather, and The Sandlot agreed to host an event.

“We noticed some office spaces and told her if they ever opened up we would love to do a mini-storefront in one of them,” Cleveringa said.

In November, one became available, and in December, they opened.

“We haven’t been in Harrisburg long, but we are loving the small-community feel and how kind Jaclyn at The Sandlot and Laura at Lava’s Coffee have been to us while getting started,” Cleveringa said.

“In the last month, we have had a great time watching people find us and be so grateful for more options. In fact, one pregnant woman desperately searching for leggings claimed we ‘saved her life!’ As all small-business owners know, we do a happy dance when we make a sale and get so excited when people find just what they were looking for.”

The Stork Shoppe carries a wide array of maternity clothing, from jeans and dresses to nursing-friendly tops as well as children’s clothing from preemie to size 8. There also are handmade accessories from area maker moms. The business partners with a maternity manufacturer on custom-designed clothes and locally prints onesies, shirts and dresses custom for the store.

“We try to find unique items that are also affordable as we are both moms and know that no one wants to spend a ton of money on maternity clothes or a ton of money on kids clothing,” Cleveringa said.

Some of their favorite products are NICU-friendly gowns, which accommodate hospital tubes and wires.

“We have both had NICU babies and so have experienced that struggle, and getting your baby dressed those first days is a bonding and learning experience we don’t want anyone to miss out on,” Cleveringa said. “We have NICU gowns in the most fun prints that make it easily accessible for nurses and doctors to do their job while mom gets to dress up her new baby.”

Because they both work other jobs, hours to start are 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. to noon Friday and Saturday.

Shoppers can message on social media to set up an appointment outside of regular store hours.