Gather and Collect started off about ten times smaller than it is now, on Pennsylvania Ave, where Punch Barber Shop is now. Owned by Julie and Lisa, with Jessica along for the ride… it held the name Vintage Minagerie and was filled with all the vintage goodies they could get their hands on. They were slaying it until one day, when arriving at the store to add inventory, they noticed a chunk of their inventory was gone and had been replaced with items they did not recognize. What the hell! So, like any sane person would do, they called the cops, wondering if someone had broken in, though that would be the oddest break-in ever. When the cops (actually, it was Rose who now works here) came, they had to do a sweep of the whole building to make sure whoever broke in wasn’t still there. Luckily, there was no one in the building or any signs that a break-in had occurred at all. So, they called their landlord to alert them about the craziness that had just occurred. Little did they know their landlord would only be adding to the craziness, because it was she who orchestrated the switch-a-roo! Something along the lines of, “You guys have a good gig going, I’m going to join in”.
Julie and Jessica were having none of that and decided to abandon ship. Mourning the loss of their store, they decided to take a rest. After about half a year, a new location opened up on Main Street, so Julie and Jessica decided to jump on that, and thus opened Gather and Collect as you know it today. After two years of banging business, Jessica left to open her interior design business, Jessica Moran Interiors, saying farewell to Gather and Collect, leaving Julie sole ownership of the store! Julie stayed on Main Street for about ten years, growing out of the size of the store around year four. If you remember the old shop, you might recall that it was small. About 650 square feet of vintage items and goodies. That’s when Julie started collecting people. First, Heather, her best friend and helper of all things crafty. Then Leah and I, otherwise known as the littles.
The business was growing, so was the need for a new space, and when another space opened up on Pennsylvania, Julie decided to go for it. The space we are in right now is about five times bigger than the original location, which offered endless opportunities to expand our merchandise and products that we carry in the store. Our clothing, gifts, hodgepodge, and cards all expanded to hold so much more than we could before. Some people don’t even realize how far back our store goes until we tell them! I remember the days of moving. We hand-carried all our pieces over, pushing over bookshelves on wheels, carrying baskets of pottery, and juggling handfuls of books or clothes.
As you can see, we’ve done some growing over the years. New spaces, new people, new products, and new chaos. The memories just keep piling up. Along with stacks of goods we need to get out on the floor…
Stay awesome and keep collecting
Mallory