Saturday Business Spotlight: Horsefeathers
[January 03, 2026] In
downtown Elkhart on Governor Oglesby Street there is a cute little shop
called Horsefeathers owned by Andrea and Peter Niehaus.
When asked about
the shop, Andrea said, “I had experience with antiques like China,
jewelry and paper goods, so it was natural for me to go into this
business.” She has been collecting old objects since childhood.
Horsefeathers has been open for almost 21 years. Before opening the
shop, Andrea was a buyer for department stores. She has always liked
women’s fashion accessories, jewelry and scarves.
As for choosing this business, Andrea said, “I absolutely adore and love
doing this. The shop is like a trip down memory lane. You will see
things in there you had in your grandma’s house. It has an old fashioned
quality and ambience.”
When Andrea and
Peter chose the location, they wanted to buy a building in the right
area. Originally, they bought a property ten miles from Elkhart. Because
the Neihaus’s like a place with a small town atmosphere, Andrea said,
“we waited until the building came on the market after the American
Legion was no longer using it. We were able to renovate and restore the
building.”
The building has
several murals, which Andrea and her sister, Renee Sisk, painted.
Original art by Sisk and others are available for purchase in the shop.
The most popular
items at Horsefeathers are costume jewelry, handmade soaps and lotions.
Greeting cards and Amish items are also big sellers.
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Andrea and Peter
also bought the general store next door, and that part of the shop,
which is called the Little Foxes, houses kitchen items, cookbooks,
crockery, vintage kitchen gadgets and Amish goodies like popcorn.
If you get hungry from all the shopping, you can head to the back of the
shop and get something to eat at the Wild Hare Café, which is run by
Peter Niehaus
To Andrea, the most rewarding part of owning a small business in a small
community is “the people we meet.” She said, “being straight off Route
66 and the highway means we meet people from all over the state and even
the world. Because Elkhart is almost dead center in the state, people
stop here on the way to St. Louis and Chicago.”
For those starting out in business, Andrea has a few pieces of advice.
She said, “Do your homework and do not leap into it. Location is
everything. Before launching into business, you need to put a lot of
thought into what you are planning to do.”
In addition, Andrea said, you need to “be good on the financial side,
understand cash flow and have backing to ride out the slow times. Stick
with it. You have to be consistent, reliable and steady.”
Horsefeathers is located at 104 Governor Oglesby in Elkhart. The hours
are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
It is a good meeting place where you can shop, relax and then eat in the
Wild Hare café.
[Angela Reiners]
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