WATERLOO - It's always sunny side up at Calico Hen House.

A smile and friendly hello from owner Skip Fell and her "Calico chicks," Julie Krueger and Cyndi Gipp, greet each customer. Spring is in full bloom at the popular home accessories, gift store and mall at Alabar Plaza, and every space brims with ideas, merchandise and antiques for feathering one's nest.

There's something else to crow about: Calico Hen House's 25th anniversary.

Fell describes the store's beginnings as modest.

"It started 25 years ago in a chicken coop on my farm. Crafting was becoming very popular, we were in another recession, and I thought it would be a nice way to help people sell some of their products. The crafters were mostly women," she said. "I'm an antiquer, not a crafter, so the store has always incorporated my love for antiques."

A pet goose and donkeys welcomed customers in exchange for treats, and children loved the petting zoo atmosphere at the farm.

"And we had some pretty spoiled animals," Fell said, laughing. "We have some of the same dealers and customers we had 25 years ago, and we all have fond memories of the little hen house on the farm."

She flew the coop when it became too cramped and found a location for the antique and country mall on Ansborough Avenue. Calico Hen House moved to its present location 20 years ago, and was the first tenant in Alabar Plaza.

The faithful followed.

"We love our customers. It's a happy place. A lady came in one day not long ago and said she just needed a breath of spring. Sometimes customers come in to relax and just look around and enjoy everything as the seasons change. Sometimes they need food for thought, ideas for updating their homes or help choosing colors and putting things together. Then they'll come back after they've made a decision," said Krueger.

Gipp agreed. "We have customers who came in with their babies, and now those babies are grown up, coming in as customers. We get wedding announcements, birth announcements. It's a multigenerational store."

Both Gipp and Krueger have worked at the Hen House for 14 years.

Tucked into the 9,500-square-feet store's nooks and crannies are displays by 36 vendors, featuring everything from antique and vintage objects to handcrafted items. Dealers pay a rental fee for space and a percentage from sales. Fell sets parameters for the dealers, including the request to seasonally update displays. The store handles bookkeeping chores.

"For years, our business has allowed hundreds of people to sell their products and get involved in retail. There's a nice balance of new and antique items. We always have a waiting list of people who want to set up. Sometimes it can be several years before we have an opening," Fell said.

Calico Hen House displays its own merchandise and primitive, farm and finer antiques in the store's central areas. Antique cabinets, sideboards, farmhouse tables and chests house dishware, glassware, lamps, scented candles, crockery, pottery and much more. Bouquets of faux flowers complement colorful quilted throws, pillows and other textiles. There is an eclectic blend of country and "citified" objects, along with a menagerie of hens, chicks, ducks, rabbits and other decorative critters. Fell's pride and joy is a lodge room overflowing with lodgepole pine furniture, including a bed, and woodsy- and western-themed accessories such as buffalo and cow hides.

She has collected, bought and sold antiques for years. Each year, a customer from the East Coast drives out with a trailer to purchase antiques from the Hen House.

"Our prices are reasonable compared to what antiques are priced back East. We try to keep our prices affordable. If we receive a discount on an item, we pass the savings on to our customers," Fell said.

Antique Service Center from Sumner has space in the store, too, repairing lamps and selling shades.

When she hatched the idea for Calico Hen House, Fell never dreamed she'd still be in business 25 years later.

"That's one-third of someone's life," she said. "Our humble beginnings have led us to many wonderful customers who have become our friends."

Contact Melody Parker at (319) 291-1429 or melody.parker@wcfcourier.com.