KNITWEAR SHOP KEEPS EXPANDING ITS LINES

Holiday merchandise is abundant at the shop, including these pins. Other accessories include scarves, earrings and necklaces.

Anderson says knitwear isn't just for casual days anymore. With the right coordination and accessories, it works for the office.

Behind every business is someone who fretted and worried, wondering if he should stay at a regular job or work for himself.

Maybe not EVERY business. Melody Anderson got hers almost by accident.

She was selling advertising for a local radio station when she first walked into Fleece Inc. on Broadway. The shop was an outlet for Dean Manufacturing and Sales Inc., a Malden-based knitwear factory.

The store owner, Kyle Dean, was running between his father's factory in Malden and four other outlet stores. He hired Anderson to help with some of the load.

Anderson and her husband Todd began looking at a different business to buy. He was working at Biokyowa and as company commander of the 1140th Engineering Battalion of the National Guard, but Anderson wanted to work for herself.

"I always liked being in control," she said. "I would jokingly say to Kyle, `You should just sell me this store.' When things didn't work out with buying the other business, we bought this one from Kyle."

She bought the business in April and immediately made changes, expanding her line of suppliers from just Dean Manufacturing to several in the nation. Now she carries knit skirt-and-vest sets, pants sets, crocheted sweaters, earrings, scarves, appliqued sweatshirts and a variety of other items.

"It has been great," Anderson said. "People think you will be stressed out when you own your own business, but I feel much more laid back. It has allowed me to have some flexibility."

Dean Manufacturing, too, has expanded since Anderson bought the outlet store from the company. According to an article in the Wayne County Journal Banner from earlier this year, the mayor of Piedmont read about Dean Manufacturing in the Southeast Missourian Progress Edition.

He called the owners and invited them to expand in Piedmont, which they did. Now there are two Dean Manufacturing factories in Missouri.

Anderson's plan to diversify her clothing lines proved invaluable in July. A tornado struck the factory in Malden, shutting down production for a time. She kept supplied through other sources until Dean Manufacturing was back on track.

As knitwear's popularity keeps growing, so will The Fleece Shoppe, Anderson hopes.

"Everyone is on the go and money is tight, so knitwear is something you can take off the hanger, throw on and go," she said. "It's inexpensive, you can wear it to work and you don't have to dry clean it."

If things keep going well, Anderson said, she possibly will open a location in another town. Right now, she is working on expanding her customer base to include a wider range of ages.