Swanky Sisters moves to Creamery Mall
BERL TISKUS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 months AGO
Reporter Berl Tiskus joined the Lake County Leader team in early March 2023, and covers Ronan City Council, schools, ag and business. Berl grew up on a ranch in Wyoming and earned a degree in English education from MSU-Billings and a degree in elementary education from the University of Montana. Since moving to Polson three decades ago, she’s worked as a substitute teacher, a reporter for the Valley Journal and a secretary for Lake County Extension. Contact her at [email protected] or 406-883-4343. | March 27, 2025 12:00 AM
Owner Beverley Osterwyk and her crew moved Swanky Sisters Mercantile to a new location in the Creamery Mall in Ronan three weeks ago, and they’re still unpacking boxes of fabric, notions, baby items and gifts.
The move nearly triples the space in their store, which they’re quickly filling.
“We have 1,000 bolts of new fabric,” Osterwyk said.
The bright new store stocks quilting fabric, and cowboy, florals, checks, animal and wildlife prints, plus Minky, flannels, wide backing fabric for quilts, batting, patterns, and quilting books.
Swanky Sisters also offers a huge selection of Native American fabric, much of which Osterwyk found in Canada. Ledger art fabrics share shelves with geometric prints, southwestern fabric, northwest coastal designs, calicos, florals and hummingbird cloth. Some designs look as if they’re beaded, while others blend and contrast.
Many are perfect for ribbon skirts, shirts, and a new fashion — ribbon pants. Osterwyk has shelves of ribbons — narrow, wide, grosgrain and satin — in shades from turquoise to apricot. She also stocks jingles for jingle-dress creators and satin fabric and fringe for fashioning shawls.
Swanky Sisters also has a large children’s section with stuffed animals, toys, dishes and spoons for tiny hands, sleepers and rompers, blankets, swaddles, books, binkies, booties and rattles.
The back room accommodates two-long quilting machines and an embroidery machine. Osterwyk also plans to add a classroom so women (“men, too, if they’re handsome”) can take a class or finish a project.
The new address is 63917 US Hwy. 93, Suite #107, in Ronan; and the new phone number is 406-676-USEW (8739). Swanky Sisters Mercantile is open seven days a week.
ARTICLES BY BERL TISKUS
Upgrades continue at Ronan Community Center
The Community Center in Ronan was dedicated in 1969, after untold months of work by the local Jaycees and Jayceens. “It’s been a very long time since it had an upgrade, just because there’s no money,” said Sjaan Vincent, Ronan fairgrounds manager.
City of Ronan welcomes Mark Nelson to council
Ronan City Council’s meeting on Jan. 14 began with a welcome for a new council member and new police officer, plus new office worker Gwen Zolder.
Winterfest draws crowd but no snow
It was about 40 degrees with not a tablespoon of snow on the ground at the Miracle of America Museum in Polson on Jan. 10. Despite the balmy temperature, people gathered for the annual Winterfest, and examined the fleet of vintage snowmobiles on the museum’s front lawn.