Chris Bieri/PCT i design recently moved into the old J.C. Penney building which housed Midwest Telemarketing International until last week.

For more than a year, Daunne Heilman and Helen Ferguson knew they’d outgrown their building on Rugby’s Main Avenue.

But finding a reasonable spot to relocate their business i design was proving a challenge.

But on Sept. 30, the business reopened at 111 2nd St. SE, in the old J.C. Penny building.

That move completed a three-way turn, with Midwest Telemarketing International moving from the J.C. Penny building to the building that used to house Edwin Pfeifer’s Vaccum Shop after Pfeifer opened a furniture business in Minot.

“We had purchased a piece of land prior to this,” Heilman said. “About a year ago, I made a call to the gal that owned the MTI building and asked if she was interested in selling or doing a trade if they weren’t utilizing the whole facility. Ironically, a few months after we purchased the land near McGuire’s she called and said she’d be interested in selling. We took that opportunity and ran with it, primarily because for the price we were able to get the building for, it was impossible to get a structure built.”

Chris Bieri/PCT The new building includes much more space for both a showroom and production.

Heilman said i design didn’t need to do much work to fit the building to their needs.

“We did some painting and cosmetic stuff but we did very little work to the building,” she said. “We’re at almost 13,000 square feet so we’ve almost quadrupled our showroom space, and retail and production. This building, other than needing an elevator, it’s ideal for us.”

Ferguson and Heilman said the extra space is great for customers and employees alike.

“Having more room allows separation of departments, thus allowing us to work with customers in a more relaxed atmosphere and allows every employee their own space,” Ferguson said.

“We haven’t put a lot of new items on the floor, but the same customers come in and see something that’s been there for six months but they weren’t able to see it,” Heilman said.

With the move, i design also did a logo redesign.

“We’d expanded our business so many times, it was no longer i design signs or i design promotions,” Heilman said. “We thought it was the perfect time to say what encompasses our business, we’re image builders. It was an opportunity to refresh our own look.”

Both said staying in the downtown area was important.

“That was one thing we struggled with when we purchased the land off of main,” Heilman said. “We really liked to be downtown. We wanted to keep Rugby alive.”