ROCHELLE — On Monday, a ribbon cutting and grand opening event was held for K&K Creative Links, a new business that offers custom-fit permanent jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces and anklets. K&K Creative Links resides inside The Cypress House at 718 10th Ave. in Rochelle and does private parties as well. 

Owner Catherine Kuehl said that opening her own business has been a goal of her’s for quite some time. 

“It's something that's customized to the customer and they can have it however they want,” Kuehl said. “It's a more affordable price than actually going to a jeweler. It's all gold-filled or sterling silver. You can dedicate it to your kids, family, pets or loved ones. Or just something that you like. It gets welded on, so it stays on until you decide to take it off. We seem to be a pretty big hit around Rochelle and I'm pretty proud of that.”

The ribbon cutting was hosted by the Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and speakers included Chamber Executive Director Tricia Herrera, Rochelle Mayor John Bearrows, and State Rep. Bradley Fritts. Herrera opened the event by welcoming Kuehl and K&K Creative Links to the chamber and thanked her and Krista Stewart, who owns The Cypress House, for their work on collaborating with other local small businesses. 

“This is something that's a passion and dream for you,” Herrera said. “You started out as home-based and doing parties, and always knew you wanted to be in a space somewhere to get a little bit more exposure and kind of show everybody. Permanent jewelry is on fire right now. You can't go on social media without seeing it, and that's great that you're capitalizing on that in this beautiful space here in Rochelle. We know when you open a business you can open it anywhere. And we're always very grateful and thankful when businesses choose to do it here in Rochelle. We're excited to have you and see how this can grow and more collaborations and partnerships.”

Bearrows spoke about businesses growing from a home-based format into having their own spaces and offered the city’s support. 

“You have to remember as you move forward that we're all in this together, the chamber, the city and the small businesses,” Bearrows said. “We like to do whatever we can do to help our small businesses to survive and thrive. Through the pandemic, it became very apparent how the city feels about helping our small businesses. As we all know, getting any business to come to Illinois in today's world is a bit of a challenge. We're very proud of our local businesses. We don't worry about what goes on elsewhere, but we want to see Rochelle thrive.”

Fritts’ remarks included the importance of small businesses to the community. 

“Oftentimes we talk about businesses moving out of Illinois,” Fritts said. “When we talk about fostering new business, a lot of times we talk about big corporations that are going to bring in hundreds or thousands of jobs. What I think we often forget is that America is truly run by people like you. Small business owners. People that start a mom and pop thing in their backyard and all of the sudden turn it into a thriving community business. And that's what you're doing. I wish you the best of luck. Congratulations.”