A Hickman boutique is one of two businesses in Nebraska — and 20 nationwide — that are going to be getting some national attention.
J Boutique, a small Hickman shop that sells clothes and shoes for women and girls, has been chosen to be part of the Small Business Spotlight, a national initiative that is a joint effort of the National Retail Federation Foundation and The Qurate Retail Group.
As part of the effort, j Boutique will appear on both the Home Shopping Network and shopping channel QVC on June 5.
Owner Jenn Folkerts said she was aware she was going to be nominated for the award, "but I didn't really think my odds were too great to be selected as one of the 20 to get featured nationally," she said. "I'm truly grateful and honored and I appreciate Nebraska Retail Federation and (federation president Rich Otto) for nominating me."
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She said she started the boutique 2 1/2 years ago to give women in Hickman a local boutique so they didn't have to go to Lincoln. The store is in a renovated century-old house in downtown Hickman.
"I thought if I could fulfill a need and people could stay in town and shop local, it'd be a win-win," Folkerts said. "And I have to say, the community support has been nothing short of amazing!"
Another Nebraska business, Master's Hand, also is part of the spotlight.
The Tekemah-based shop, which sells candles, flowers, baked goods and other items, will be featured on HSN and QVC on May 27.
In addition, both businesses will be featured in a number of promotional spots, including:
* Four-minute live segments during the week of May 11 on QVC and HSN;
* A 30-second promotional video to run on QVC and HSN and on the channels' websites;
*A Small Business Spotlight show each Saturday starting May 16 and running through June 6 on QVC3;
 *Dedicated feed posts across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The Nebraska Retail Federation said in a news release that the purpose of the Small Business Spotlight is to "share the stories of American small businesses during the unprecedented market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic."