CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Hen and Chicks Studio Owner Heidi Kaisand stands inside the space at 105 N. Main St. in Conrad that will soon become her second retreat, known as The Coop. She hopes to have it ready for operation by July 1.

CONRAD — Ever since Heidi Kaisand first opened Hen and Chicks Studio in downtown Conrad all the way back in 2011, she’s had her sights squarely set on growth and expansion.

The unique quilt shop, which features a second floor retreat center for those who wish to work on their own creations, has drawn visitors from across the state and the country, but one lingering limitation is the fact that there was no elevator to the aforementioned retreat loft, and it wasn’t divided into separate rooms for overnight guests.

Nonetheless, she made it work and found her niche, but when she had the chance to add on to her current space, Kaisand jumped at the opportunity. She’s in the process of remodeling a space to the north of her main facility between Eyecare Associates and Hutch Screen Printing in a building owned by Barry and Denise Hoy at 105 N. Main St. to add a ground level retreat.

“We’ve kind of found that our niche group is, I’ll say, six to eight women. This is going to sleep eight. I can get 12 worktables in there, so it’s slightly smaller than the nest. I’m calling the upstairs retreat center the Nest. The new retreat center is The Coop,” Kaisand said.

The bedrooms will be separated from the workspace, and she sees the fact that it won’t be dormitory style sleeping as a major selling point. While the buildings will remain separate from each other without any tunnels or doors to connect them, Kaisand joked that a quilter can get from one to the other in a grand total of 16 steps.

She also sees the potential for hosting other events inside the new spaces like cooking classes and sessions.

“It just might be able to host a little bit (of a) different type of event and fill the space differently, so that’s exciting for me too. So that’s exciting for me, too, to be able to do that,” Kaisand said.

In researching historical archives, Kaisand found that the new space she’s dubbed The Coop was once a pharmacy, and she’s happy to breathe new life into it after it had been vacant for several years once the former Carol’s Restaurant closed. And while Conrad’s downtown comprises just a single block on Main Street, the business owners who call it home want to see it grow and succeed in any way possible.

“It speaks to the fact that all of us down here are working so hard. We might only be a block long, but we’re mighty. When there are strong small businesses that can all work together, it helps each of us because hopefully my customers go over to Shear Bliss and down to Hangloose and Something to Share. They certainly probably buy groceries at the grocery store. They go get gas at Casey’s, and each of those kinds of purchases is important to all of us because it just keeps our community healthier,” Kaisand said. “And from day one, I always felt like Conrad supported me whether they actually are customers or just are community members and they get what we’re doing here. And I so appreciate that because, again, it just makes for a really good setting for our business.”

Above all else, Kaisand feels blessed to have created a space where mostly women — and a few men — can enjoy fellowship and create together. She plans to have The Coop officially open by July 1. To learn more about Hen and Chicks Studio, visit https://www.henandchicksstudio.com/ or follow the business’s Facebook page.