By Sharon Verbeten
When Ashton Kragh was a young girl in Arizona, her home burned down and her family built it back themselves.
“We were always working hard, and we didn’t know any different,” says Kragh, 34, the new owner of Chilton Upholstery with her husband, Jonathon.
Kragh’s upbringing is likely what inspired her to take the leap to buying the company, which has a long history in the city. She and Jonathon purchased the small Calumet County shop earlier this year from second-generation owners Dino and Ellie Papendieck.
“It was very much one of those moments in life where your spouse knows what you need more than you do,” says Kragh, who formerly worked in the medical field. Jonathon, 40, a funeral director and member of the Chilton City Council, met the Papendiecks at a funeral and learned they were interested in selling the business.
The Kraghs financed the purchase on their own, using the equity in their home. They currently rent the building but plan to buy it in the next five years.
Even with no experience in sewing, Kragh’s penchant for finding treasures led her to take on the challenge, with “a huge leap of faith and a whole lot of elbow grease.”
The Papendiecks taught her to sew and showed her the craft of fixing chairs, tables and pillows and giving old furniture facelifts.
“I had never taken any business courses. I have just been asking a ton of questions, and I really tried to build upon the ways I was weak,” says Kragh, who now works the business full time, with some start-up assistance from the previous owners.
“I’m the DIY, hands-on person,” says Kragh, who is also mom to a 3-year-old son.
Since Chilton Upholstery’s history dates back to 1949, when Dino Papendieck’s father Nyles started the business, the town knows the business well. Kragh aims to honor that.
“I am keeping everything the same,” she says. “History, that’s the foundation of our business. I definitely think you should honor those before you.”
