"Why Did You Open a Pajama Store?"

That’s the first question people ask us when they come in the door. And yes, there’s a story behind it. I used to lounge around the house in old sweats and tee shirts, without any nice pajamas in my closet. But in 1999 an unexpected hospital stay left me embarrassed with nothing nice to wear. “I wish I had some decent pajamas,” I said to Kevin. The next day he showed up at the hospital with the most beautiful pair of pink pajamas and a matching robe. Just putting them on made me feel better! They were soft, comfortable and cheerful. Thrilled with my new “outfit,” I turned to him and said “Someday I’m going to open a store that sells products that just make people feel good.” Shortly thereafter Kevin had a dream that we opened the store and it was called “Dreamwear,” and that’s how we got our name.

It didn’t happen overnight – I was the vice president and general manager of a Chicago area manufacturing firm that I had been with for 12 years. Kevin is a Partner with a leading professional services consulting firm. Neither of us were strangers to stress. At the age of 32, Kevin was diagnosed with cancer (non-hodgkins lymphoma) which at the time only had a 30% five year survival rate. A year later Kevin beat the odds and went into remission, and has thankfully remained there ever since.

In 2001 the world became a crazy place. I was profoundly affected by September 11 and, like the rest of America, more than ever sought comfort in my home. A few months later I quit my job and we decided to open The Dreamwear Shoppe. Everyone told us we were crazy to open a retail business then, but we were confident that the timing was right to be in the comfort business. The first policy we made is that employees must wear their pajamas to work!

Our store manager, Lynne Ball, has worked with me since 1997 at my previous job, and joined The Dreamwear Shoppe in 2003. Lynne was born for retail – every single day she’s as cheerful when the doors close as when they open, and has seemingly limitless energy and capacity for work. Her husband, Brian, has done extensive work on the design and décor of the store. Kevin and I joined them on Makena beach on the island of Maui when they eloped in 2005.

Angel Ramos works part time, and with her gorgeous skin and long curly hair is our very own live Barbie doll in the store. In addition to being beautiful and smart, her incredible enthusiasm when presenting our products leads many customers to think she is the owner!

Kathy Felten works at another company full time during the week, then shares many of her weekends working in the store with us. Kathy always wears perfectly matching accessories with her pajamas – earrings, bracelets, socks, shoes, etc.. She’s the one that keeps us organized, cleaning up our storage rooms and under our counter after we’ve made a mess during the week.

Kevin enjoys working in the store on weekends, but for some reason we still can’t get him to wear pajamas in the store!

And that’s the story. With a little more experience under our belts, we’d like to franchise the business. We hope you’ll stop by and visit us if you’re in the area. The town of Geneva is great, and we’d love to meet you!

Nancy Burkhart, President
The Dreamwear Shoppe, Inc.