Oh So Cute Boutique on Route 66, and DD’s Balloonery and More!

By Cindy Ladage

At 175 N. Springfield Street, there is an exciting new boutique and balloon art shop.  Formerly My Flower Shop for many years, the building built in 1924 is known as the Seymore Building where it once housed a doctor and a dentist. Today the new businesses are the brainchild of Amy Raymonds and Angie Seabolt. Together they offer fun, fashion, balloon art, and more for Virden residents and beyond.

Amy Raymonds who owns Oh, So Cute Boutique said, “I opened June 15, 2024.  I always wanted to own a boutique. My fiancée Eric Elton bought the building, then I opened my boutique.”

When asked how her name came about, she said, “I couldn’t think of anything, but when I was searching for clothes, I kept saying “Oh So Cute”, and my fiancée said, use that.”

It worked! Trying to keep prices low, and offer the community a place to shop, the boutique became a reality. At first Amy said, “It was a trail run opening with limited stock before June. Then in June, it was a committed opening.”

Working fulltime as a lab manager at St. John’s Clinic, this busy manager and mom of three was following her dreams when she opened Oh So Cute. “Now I get to go shopping all the time, and shopping is my favorite addiction!”

“I have a variety of items from size extra-small to 2X,” she said offering choices for a variety of sizes. “We have clothing, jewelry, soap, candle waxes and melts. We sell hair clips and more.”

Since her kids are North Mac students, she was excited to announce, “We are getting North Mac apparel.  We will have earrings, hats etc.  I have three kids, Jesse is a senior at North Mac, Wyatt is a junior, and my youngest, Owen, is a 2nd grader.”

Amy and Angie are getting ready for Easter “We have gift certificates and Easter gifts coming. We have cute Easter dresses, shows and more.”

“During homecoming I had dresses, and I plan on doing it again,” Amy added.

With such a busy schedule it was hard to be open for a lot of hours, that is where Angie Seabolt came in! “Angie came in before being open one week,” Amy said, “she asked if she could decorate the windows with balloons. She decorates windows with balloons as a way of advertising.”

Angie added, “Last year around Valentine’s Day I came to the shop to see if I could do a display in Amy’s window.”

Amy discussed with Angie the possibility of bringing her business to the shop.  Considering Amy's full-time work schedule, she proposed that they could share the space, with Angie managing the shop during most daytime hours. “This was perfect timing,” Angie said. 

Angie, her brother, and her husband Mark were able to help get the shop ready for the big June opening when Amy went from her trial run to established hours.  “They did a lot of the heavy lifting on the project, and I am thankful for all they did.”

“Mark and I painted the walls and the ceiling and stripped the floors. With painted walls and refinished floors, the shop was soon ready to roll. This was a solution for Angie. Like Amy, Angie had dreamed of having her own business, and while she had been working from her home, this gave them both an established location.

“I have always been a party planner and done all the stuff for our own family,” Angie said, “I saw a niche there are not a lot of balloon artists in the area.  When my kids were growing up our house looked like a store. My family has always said I’m over the top and extra. My daughters said I should start a business. So, I decided to see how it would go, and I love it. “

“I am a crafty person,” Angie said.  She learned to create balloon art from YouTube videos. “Last year my niece wanted a rainbow balloon, and I watched steps on YouTube videos, and put it all into practice.”

Angie offers balloons for baby showers, birthdays, and more.  “I did the arches for homecoming at the school and helped with and float at the school.”

She also works at events. “The Foundations committee was hired to do a display at Rustic Venues, at Standard City. Basically, I do any kind of balloon someone needs. I have a helium tank so at the shop, I can do individual or bouquets.”

Part of the fun for both Angie and Amy is the people they meet. “I’ve had several people come into the shop,” Angie said, “one was from Australia, a couple from France. They fly over to travel Route 66.”

Coming to the shop has been a great collaboration for this longtime Virden resident. “I originally grew up and graduated from Virden, only a couple years didn’t live in Virden.  My husband grew up here too. We have five kids, and seven grandchildren.”

The name DD’s Balloonery And More represents her name, DeAngela Dawn. Angie is ambitious and would like to expand. “I’d like to do whole events eventually cater, florals, entire thing.”

The collaboration has become more than just a business arrangement. “The best part of our partnership,” Amy said, is that we have built a friendship.”

Angie runs the store most days, with Amy taking over on Wednesday and Friday evenings, with assistance from her older sons. “My sons help work, and their girlfriends have even helped pick out stock.”

While Angie is a Virden girl, Amy is new to the community.  “I am from Colchester, near Macomb.  I originally came to Virden in 2020 during COVID.  My fiancée brought me here.  I first got a job in Jacksonville at St. Johns HSHS, then worked my way up to the hospital.”

Amy is enjoying her interaction with customers and the Virden community. “This is a great small community.  At first, I didn’t want to move,” she said, but after arriving said, “Virden has a great school district.  It was big in Jacksonville, and it was great to bring kids somewhere smaller.”

Coming to town, Amy is all in as much as someone so busy can be “I joined the Chamber of Commerce, kids are in sports (wrestling, football and track). Then there is, Cub Scouts, bowling, and church.”

Opening on the square was beneficial, Amy felt both for her, Angie and the community. Best of all, she enjoys immense support from her fiancée. “Eric is my biggest champion. He is a State of Illinois electrician.”

Besides his electrician business, he also owns Helton’s Custom Exhaust and rental properties.

Oh, So Cute Boutique, and DD’s Balloons is closed on Monday, open Tuesday from 10-5, Wednesday from noon -7, Thursday 10-5, Friday noon -8, and Saturday from 10-2. “These are the winter hours, we plan on being later in the summer,” Amy said, adding check out their Facebook page for hours.

As for Angie she said the best way to reach her is just stopping by calling the shop at 217-494-4436 or sending a Facebook message, or emailing her at DDsballooneryandmore@gmail.com.