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Downtown Watertown is home to a furniture and home decor boutique, Curated, that features much more than just handmade furniture and home decor.
Co-owners Megan Olson and her business partner Chris Hupke have owned the store in Downtown Watertown since 2022, but the seed of inspiration to open the boutique, or “lifestyle store” as Olson calls it, was planted in 2020 when she began redesigning furniture in her garage.
Those redesigning efforts were mainly reconstruction, refinishing, restaining and painting. Olson and Hupke obtained the furniture through thrifting as well as directly from customers who wanted work done on their items.
“Quickly it caught on,” said Olson. “It took on an identity of its own, so we decided that maybe Watertown is ready for a storefront like this.”
Since then, the store has expanded. Now Curated offers a full line of imported olive oils and balsamic vinegars. The olive oils in particular can be tasted, as a sample table is set up daily. Olson said she aimed to bring more of the lifestyle business feel to her boutique when she chose to expand into the realm of gourmet food.
“We don’t want to be just known for one specific thing, we really want to have a cool offering for the community,” said Olson. “Our goal is to provide a customer driven experience. We’re not in the furniture and home decor business, we’re in the people business and we’re in the experience business.
Neither Olson nor Hupke have a retail background, but they count that as a strength rather than a flaw they need to overcome.
“We are absolutely, constantly in a learning mode,” Olson said. “We’re not too proud to say that. … So we’re always trying to push the envelope, we’re always trying to get people to go: ‘Woah. We can’t believe this is in Watertown, South Dakota.”
Her lack of a retail background doesn’t mean Olson comes to the table empty handed. Her previous 13 years of experience working as the president of the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce taught her how important it was for a small business to provide more than just products and services.
“We wanted to create a destination,” she said. “I think over the last three years we’ve had success with that. We get people from the Twin Cities that visit us on an annual basis, we get people from Sioux Falls constantly, and we’re bringing people down from Fargo (as well).”
Olson told the Watertown Current most of the fixtures and displays are things Hupke and her dream up. Olson provides the ideas, and sketches of what she wants while Hupke provides what Olson called “gravity,” which keeps the ideas grounded and achievable.
Hupke also spoke on some of the inspiration behind Curated. He said he and Olson would travel to other towns and see how little shops around the community were able to put down roots and offer something that’s not typical anymore: an experience.
“It’s really neat,” he said. “It’s like a rebirth of the communities downtown.”
The store itself undergoes massive rearrangements and redecorations every season, one thing that Olson said really helps the experience Curated provides to the customer.
Olson also offers interior design services, which she does herself. These services include in-home consultations, remodels and redesigns.
Olson also spoke on how she hopes to see Downtown Watertown flourish.
“(I) go back to the adage that high tides raise all ships,” she said. “The more places we have to draw people into this community, the better everyone else does around us. That collaborative spirit is really important to what we do here.”
Curated will be closed for the month of January for its seasonal remodel, but the store will open again in February. Their normal hours are Thursdays and Fridays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Curated is located at 115 West Kemp Ave. in Downtown Watertown.
One of Curated’s seasonal designs featured a pair of deer dressed as humans for the Christmas season.
Various decorations in the boutique had scarves on to keep them warm during the cold South Dakota winters.
Olson decorated with various presents, using every inch of the vertical space in the boutique.
Olson and Hupke are both collectors of vintage suitcases.
The Stella Mae rests atop a wall and serves as a reference to the old days of Lake Kampeska.
Olson upcycled an old metal arch to use as a decoration in the boutique.
Curated’s daily olive oil sampling spread is one of the large draws to the store, according to Olson.
A winter only display at Curated features a train set from one of Olson’s relatives.
A train curves around a corner, headed for the station.
Trains pass under an archway on their way around the track.
The train station awaits the arrival of the next inbound train.
