For the first time in 10 months, Val Sjoblom feels relaxed.

And for someone who owns a business that just opened last month, relaxed is something she didn’t expect to feel.

“Well, it was overwhelming at first,” she admitted. “But now I got this.”

Studio 53, which Sjoblom owns with her husband, Larry, made its debut last month in the former Falls Veterinary Clinic building on Highway 53.

“I had this vision and it all kind of fell into place,” Sjoblom said. “God used the big one for me.”

That vision started on a smaller scale in 2006 when Sjoblom developed On a Wing and a Prayer, a machine quilting business. In 2012, Fotos on Fabric took off and she was shipping custom orders of photographs printed on fabric all over the world.

“We shipped at least 10 packages every day,” she said.

Still, she wanted more.

“It has always been a dream to have a quilt store to match the machine quilting,” she said. “I knew it was time to grow.”

So last year, she was on the hunt for a building that would accommodate her needs and turn her dream into a reality.

With the support of family and friends, on Oct. 1, she purchased the vacant veterinary clinic and work began on the exterior of the building. Hoping to be open by January, Sjoblom said the remodel turned into more than she had anticipated pushing the day the doors opened further back.

“The remodel was more than we thought it was going to be,” she said, giving a nod to all the local contractors who helped along the way. “We almost doubled what we originally thought it was going to cost.”

But in the end, as she glanced around her new store, it seems all worth it.

“I think I’ve created a good eye appeal coming down Highway 53,” she said.

The store offers products that cannot be found anywhere else in the community.

“I’m different than everyone else,” she said. “I’ve been communicating with other businesses and I’m not repeating what they have in their stores. I’m trying not to compete, but rather compliment, other local businesses.”

From candles that burn in circles, to custom-made Rainy Lake signs, to Sjoblom’s favorite — bling — the store’s merchandise focuses on the area and all it has to offer.

“I love selling local goods,” Sjoblom said pointing to a Rainy Lake quilt.

And aside from making her living during the new venture, Sjoblom also wants to make people laugh.

“One of my highest goals was that if people can come in my store and laugh, I’ve created something great,” she said. “I’m kind of a dry sense of humor, I love people who can make everything humorous... I think if you can laugh in a store, you’ll come back.”

As the dust settles, Sjoblom has big plans for the future of the store including hosting classes on how to make unique burlap products.

“We’re unique,” she said of the store. “Everybody said this town needed a store like this. I’m really excited.”

Studio 53 is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday by appointment, 218-285-9962.