A well-known business dedicated to education is reopening.
Pigtails โn Inkwells closed last year in St. Joseph but is now opening at 321 St. Joseph St. in Wathena, Kansas.
โWe have so much merchandise left,โ said Mindy Miller, co-owner of the store.
The inventory includes learning aids, classroom decorations and student supplies, textbooks and workbooks for every subject and grade. There also are supplies for Girl Scouts and Christian education.
โItโs just plenty of stuff. You just have to come in, dig through and find it,โ Miller said. โThe teachers really just donโt have any other options unless itโs online. And we want to keep the business local.โ
Mary Jane Fields started Pigtails โn Inkwells in 1980 while teaching at Missouri Western State University. She employed college women to work at the shop. Fields sold the business to Miller, a local Realtor, and her daughter, Jamie Smith, a teacher at Riverside Unified School District. The pair also owned the Little Red Schoolhouse in Elwood, Kansas.
Miller and Smith are natives of Wathena. In fact, Miller is happy to only live four blocks away from her new shop.
โI want to get back out and be with people,โ she said. โI enjoy all the teachers and all the other customers, and I look forward to seeing them.โ
Pigtails nโ Inkwells carries everything a teacher might need. While Miller is still getting the new store set up, there are five rooms full of teaching aids.
The Wathena store will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 23, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Beginning next week, Miller said she wants to open later in the afternoon to cater to teachers, so the hours will be from 2 to 6 p.m.
For more information, call 816-262-1945.
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