HER Stories: CIELO’s Monica Ferguson embraces new adventures while expanding business

This story first appeared in HER Stories - Spring 2024, a biannual special section distributed by The Gazette that features stories of Eastern Iowa women who have experienced powerful paths of achievement for themselves, their families and their communities.

Time and time again, CIELO owner Monica Ferguson has found a way to persevere and lead with compassion, whether it is in the face of personal challenges or a global pandemic.

Ferguson, 46, started CIELO at her kitchen table, designing and sewing clothing for women and children to be sold locally. In an eight-year span, it has grown from an online wholesaler to two storefront locations.

The start of the business marked an impactful time for Ferguson, both professionally and personally.

Ferguson learned the skills of designing and sewing when she moved to New York City in September 2001. It was a difficult time to live in the city following the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, she said. But she could not help but be inspired by the city.

“I yearned to have a creative outlet,” she said. “I decided to make my own way, despite no formal education in art or design.”

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As she gained these new skills, she also met with a great personal challenge. Her alcohol addiction, which started in high school, became severe, and curtailed her aspirations for the next 20 years.

“I struggled to succeed in anything,” Ferguson recalled.

Things changed in 2015 when Ferguson achieved sobriety. With it came the spark to make her dream of business ownership a reality. CIELO was born.

The name is Spanish for “heaven” and is inspired by the nickname her mother, Ana Maria Berry, gave to her. To Ferguson, it means a new life or a heavenly new start.

Getting sober and starting a business were all fitting with the theme of a new start. A clever invention helped get that new start off on the right foot.

Monica started creating, sewing and selling handmade products at local markets and boutiques. Along with handmade baby and women's clothing, the Moon Warmers were one of CIELO’s most popular handmade products, and they are still sold in both shops to this day and made locally in Wellman, Iowa.

A Moon Warmer is a hot/cold therapy pack that is filled with Ferguson’s special blend of flax seed and dried herbs. It is designed to comfort the user and provide pain relief either in the microwaveable therapy pack or as a neck wrap.

Ferguson sewed and designed, oftentimes late into the night, to continue selling her handmade products and grow her business. When the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States, she pivoted much of her effort to sewing protective masks.

Ferguson hired several local women to help her make masks, producing between 2,000 and 3,000 some weeks, according to her husband, Tom Ferguson.

“She is extremely driven,” Tom said. “She is very pro-woman, pro-Latina business owner. She doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer the first or the 10th time. She just keeps pushing.”

That push materialized into her first storefront on Coralville’s Iowa River Landing in 2021.

“Without financing, I grew and grew,” Monica said. “Opening my first shop in the beautiful Iowa River Landing was an absolute dream.”

Monica had a clear vision for her brand, describing it as about “comfort, healing, joy and empowerment.” The CIELO store brings those tenets to a physical space, creating a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere to browse its products, including the Everlasting Jewelry. CIELO staff have welded more than 3,500 pieces.

Monica Ferguson is the owner of Cielo Goods, which offers her classic Moon Warmers, skin balms and other self-care products. Photographed at Basic Goods in Iowa City on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

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A view of the CIELO storefront in the Iowa City Ped Mall. (Submitted photo)

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“She set up her store to create a space that her 5-year-old self would have loved, that was comforting and soothing,” said Monique Holtkamp, owner of Tspoons and Sweets and Treats. “It struck me when she told me about her store, being there helps other people soothe themselves as well.”

There is a lot that is new in Monica’s life of late. In November, she opened her second storefront in the Iowa City Ped Mall. About four months ago she married her husband, Tom, who has embarked on a new venture working full time alongside his wife.

“She’s just a phenomenal person to work for, to work with and to be a husband to,” Tom said.

One of Monica’s larger goals when she started CIELO was to create a company that elevates women and brings good to the world. While she continues to grow her business, she is also focused on bringing others along with her.

She started a Facebook group called “Business Besties” to bring together a community of Iowa women who own small businesses. The group has more than 800 members and is used to share knowledge and resources to help them all succeed.

One of the activities the Business Besties have weekly is the “Teach Me Something” class. In this class, members share their knowledge about the various skills and practices that have helped them run their businesses.

“Within the group it highlights what each of us does best,” Holtkamp said. “The idea behind it is every person, every woman business owner has a different view, a different talent.”

Holtkamp is a realtor and longtime friend of Monica. She also has her second store location in CIELO’s Iowa City store.

“When I first walked up to her, I said, ‘I feel like I already know you, but I don’t think we’ve actually met before,” Holtkamp said. “I walked into her business space before we were sharing a space. The energy she creates, it’s such a bright and wonderful space. She’s so compassionate and helpful.”