Sep 11, 2009

Avondale boutique owner finds strength to endure despite personal tragedyBy Mary MaraghyJacksonville.com

Avondale boutique owner Iva Keyworth said to keep customers coming back, she has to continually rearrange the merchandise on display in her store.

Meanwhile, tragedy rearranged her life last year when her 49-year-old husband, Scott, suffered a heart attack that left him unable to work.

Keyworth said she’s so thankful to friends, family and Avondale-area merchants who have helped keep her and her business afloat. Also, she said, she read “The Spirit of Faith” by Mark Hankins five times, which has helped her cope.

“Sometimes you have to get completely knocked off your feet before you are able to get out of the boat and walk on the water,” she said.

Keyworth said her once-boisterous, high-energy husband now has memory problems and goes to a day care facility. Working as a private contractor in Afghanistan, he had supported her for many years when she was a stay-at-home mother of their daughter, Jessica. Now it’s her turn to take care of him.

The quaint girly-girl boutique, Gottahaveit, was born about five years ago. Keyworth and a neighbor friend, Rebecca Miller, decided to open a home decor shop together. They started out at the Johnson Family Flea Market on the Westside before opening in a storefront on St. Johns Avenue in Avondale.

Miller’s husband lost his job and she and her family had to move out of state. Keyworth bought her out and went it alone. She moved the boutique to a smaller, cheaper storefront space across the street.

Then Wanda Pink, owner of the Pink Boutique in Ortega, closed her gift shop and began renting space from Keyworth. Pink sells beads and “Switch Flops,” changeable flip flops. Later, another nearby gift shop closed and the owner also leased space from Keyworth. Then Holly Reinhardt of the Westside, a creative and artistic customer-turned-friend, volunteered to paint murals and help decorate displays. She painted “Gracie,” a female shopping diva mascot, near the entrance.

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