BELLEVUE, Iowa -- Faced with the devastating news that they had lost their jobs, two resilient young Bellevue women pooled their resources and created a new business venture -- one that benefits both them and their hometown.

Tessa Putman, 29, and Stacy Budde-Heiar, 30, had worked side-by-side on the production line at Bellevue's Rockwell Collins plant. Their paychecks were critical to their families' budgets. Both women are married, and each has three children.

"I was content. I loved the company and would have stayed with them," said Budde-Heiar, who carried her family's health insurance through Rockwell Collins.

Then one day in January, the women were handed pink slips, as were more than a dozen other workers. Overall since November, the Cedar Rapids-based company has laid off 1,000 workers, or 5 percent of its work force.

"I was shocked. Here I am trying to do what's best for my family and I'm wondering, 'What am I going to do now?'" Putman said.

Reeling from the news, the women surveyed their meager employment options. With young children at home, they wanted to stay in

Tessa Putman Age: 29 Lives in: Bellevue, Iowa, with husband, Craig, and their three children Former job: production line worker at Rockwell Collins plant, Bellevue New job: co-owner of Classy Closet & Boutique Stacy Budde-Heiar Age: 30 Lives in: Bellevue, Iowa, with husband, Jayson, and their three children Former job: production line worker at Rockwell Collins plant, Bellevue New job: co-owner of Classy Closet & Boutique

Bellevue, but there were no jobs to be had. Commuting to Dubuque or another city for work would be cost-prohibitive and hard on their families.

"Then our husbands said they'd help us open a business if we could figure out what to do," Putman said.

The couples tossed around ideas for days and no one now remembers who had the brainstorm, but the partners decided to open a clothing and housewares consignment store.

After finding a spacious Main Street storefront with expansive front display windows and doing some painting and sprucing up, they opened Classy Closet & Boutique in March. Emphasizing quality merchandise, the entrepreneurs call themselves "uptown girls with downtown prices."

Bellevue seemed ready for such an enterprise. Only open two months, the store has nearly 150 consignors and many customers. The long, narrow shop is divided into well-marked sections, and clothes are not only hung neatly on racks but sized as well.

In reinventing themselves, the women also restored life to one of Bellevue's most famous landmarks, the venerable Lucke Brothers Shoe & Clothing Store -- for many years the oldest family-owned business in Iowa.

"The community has been great to us. We have regular customers from other towns and from Wisconsin," Budde-Heiar said.

The current financial crisis has indirectly benefited the fledgling business.

"I think the economy is a factor for people bringing us stuff to make some money and for people looking for prices way lower than retail," Putman said.

Although the store is successful, the owners still are looking for other work. Both said they need full-time jobs, preferably with benefits, to properly support their families. If they find outside jobs, they will continue to operate the store with help from their families.

Neighbors is an occasional feature of the Telegraph Herald. If you know someone who would be a good candidate for a Neighbors story, write to the City Editor, 801 Bluff St., P.O. Box 688, Dubuque, IA, 52004-0688, or e-mail kbrown@wcinet.com.