Meet Us on Main Street: Macy Krall

West Branch's historic Main Street is a charming and quaint business district located just off I-80 at exit 254 (just 6 miles from Iowa City). It's home to unique small businesses and boasts an abundance of Iowa history. There's plenty to eat, shop & explore in West Branch but what makes it extra special is the people you'll meet here.

West Branch Community Development Group is pleased to highlight our local businesses with the Meet Us on Main Street series featuring Q&A's with business owners that make our Main Street so special. Today, it's our pleasure to lift up Macy Krall! Macy is an entrepreneur through and through, she owns and operates 223 Vintage Co. on Main Street in West Branch and is also the mastermind behind Borrow My Vintage and a new sister store in Iowa City (223 Baby Co). Here's our Q&A with Macy:

Tell us a little about your background. What motivated you to start your own business? I am an entrepreneur at heart. I started my own photography business and wedding rental business 10 years ago and have loved being my own boss since. Our rental business focuses on vintage items which I fell in love with the process of finding vintage goods to rent out for weddings and events. While sourcing for these items I came across items that wouldn't be a great piece for a wedding but an amazing piece for someone's home. So I started an Etsy shop called 223 Vintage Co. The name came from our home address (223)! We started selling a ton on Etsy and even our Instagram and we grew into doing markets through the Spring + fall. Then one day my husband came home and said he found the perfect storefront for the Etsy shop and we haven't looked back since.

Where can we find you? 223 Vintage Co is located at 314 E Main Street in West Branch. We're tucked just behind the Fire Station! The West Branch store is open Fridays 11-5,

Saturday 10-4 + by appointment. You can also shop online at 223vintage.com and follow along or shop on social media at @223vintageco. We also have a sister store that focuses on baby and children's items in downtown Iowa City (@223babyco).

How long have you been operating? We opened the 223 Vintage Co storefront on March 6th 2020 - just 13 days before the COVID-19 shut down.

What inspires your work and what sets your business apart? I think we bring a unique and fun twist to Main Street in West Branch. We have a great following on Instagram that are loyal and they love to come to WB to visit us and the other shops! Our main goal is to bring different gift items, vintage and plants to the area. We also want to make our storefront warm and welcoming. It's a judge free zone and you can freely be who you are!

Describe the products/services you offer. We have a good mix of unique vintage (mid-century and boho items), a good size plant collection with planters and pots to go along with them and our growing gift section. Our gift section has everything from clothing, puzzles, books, self-care items, stickers, drinkware and so much more!

What are a few of your top-selling items? Our top selling items would be our plants and the new clothing section we recently added.

What brought you to Main Street West Branch? My husband and I moved to West Branch almost 6 years ago and we live just minutes away from the store. It's the perfect location.

What are your plans for the future of your business? Our future plans are expanding our clothing and plant section. We will be decreasing our baby section at 223 Vintage Co. since we have our new sister store. We are always bringing in new items every month so we change things up often. We always want to make sure when you come in that it's not the same items you saw a few months ago.

Fun Fact: I live off any type of bread (bread sticks, buns, sliced bread, etc) and McDonald's Fountain Coke. I can't go a day without either!

Meet Us on Main Street to visit with Macy and Eat, Shop, Explore at Exit 254!