Entrepreneur returns to Cape Girardeau to open new shop

Blackbird Monogram & Gift’s entryway is dominated by a dazzling chandelier, framed against a flat-black industrial ceiling. Gray walls and warm flooring pull together the look of a chic boutique with customizable accessories, décor items and gifts.

Decorative pieces for kitchenware hang on a spinner in the front window Friday at Blackbird Monogram & Gift in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

Owner Nikki Burton said she opened in February after a short remodeling stint. She’s returned to the area after living in Columbia, Missouri, with husband Cole for a few years.

In Columbia, she and a few other partners had a sort of collective of small shops, Burton said, and each partner brought something different to the table: Burton was an interior designer, and another partner from North Carolina crafted monograms.

The collective is still operating in Columbia, Burton said — the Southport Marketplace.

Nikki Burton holds a pot showing how the decorative pieces attach to the "Happy Everything" kitchenware set Friday at Blackbird Monogram & Gift in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

“It’s just me right now,” Burton said, adding her husband Cole operates the embroidery machine and vinyl-cutting equipment as his schedule allows.

She plans to potentially add an employee closer to summer.

The shop carries items for every age, from newborn to 70-year-olds, Burton said.

An embroidery machine sews the word "blackbird" on a T-shirt Friday at Blackbird Monogram & Gift in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

Burton said she works with several real estate agents and organizations looking for interesting items for clients or fundraisers.

Beyond the monogrammable items, Burton said, her former partner also introduced her to the Happy Everything! collectible line, she said.

Some items are stoneware with accessories that attach with Velcro, Burton said.

Every inch of space in the shop is used, Burton noted: clothing, accessories, baby items, tumblers and more line the walls and floor displays.

Jewelry pieces are seen Friday at Blackbird Monogram & Gift in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

Not everything is customizable: “Some people just want a shirt,” she said, laughing. “I try to make sure to have variety.”

Burton said she’s glad to see so many entrepreneurs in Cape Girardeau building their own shops. Boutiques now line Broadway in Cape Girardeau and High Street in Jackson, she said.

“It was nice to come back and see so many locally owned businesses,” Burton said. “Everything in Columbia is locally owned, and it was cool to come back and see it here.”

Colored string is loaded onto an embroidery machine Friday at Blackbird Monogram & Gift in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

Burton has her eye on the shop’s future, she said.

“I would love to expand by the end of the year,” Burton said. She wants to add a gathering room where she could hold tea parties or coffee breaks, birthday parties or other events.

And she wants to bring more product lines to the shop.

Nikki Burton stands behind the front register of her new boutique space Friday at Blackbird Monogram & Gift in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

She plans to offer classes to teach people how to use the Annie Sloan line of high-end chalk paints, which she carries, and how to create different effects, such as distressing or color washing.

Blackbird Monogram & Gift is at 1812 Carondalet Ave., Suite 104, in Cape Girardeau, on the other side of the same building where Beef O’Brady’s is located. More information is at www.blackbirdgift.com.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630