Hanging lights glisten from within glass mason jars giving the room a comfortable glow,. Vintage jewelry lays in rows on a slightly worn vanity covered with a lace tablecloth. Paintings and old window panes sit nestled in the corner reflecting the spectacular display of vintage treasures that embellish the store in a fashion forward way.
A new consignment store, Vintage Chic, brings the charm of antiques with a touch of up-to-date fashion to the streets of downtown Hillsdale. Opened by mother-daughter duo Karen Wilkin & Crystal Gimenez on October 1, Vintage Chic seems to differ slightly from the stereotypical consignment store.
“We don’t sell any clothing at all,” Gimenez said. “We sell many vintage and antique items. We also have many hand made objects.”
With a couple other local clothing consignment stores one might think store owners would consider selling clothing, but staying true to their interest and store’s foundation, Gimenez said that they just weren’t interested in clothing.
“It’s definitely a unique store for Hillsdale,” Gimenez said. “It makes a difference that we have local artists [participate] in [our business] here.”
Local artists from all around come to consign at Vintage Chic, Giminez said. Many of them have interesting stories.
“Some are single moms trying to make their way, while others just love what they do.”
They have a wide variety of consigned items and antiques all collected or created by local artists, Gimenez said. She lists some of the more popular items to be woolen mittens, t-shirt jewelry, pottery, glass jewelry, hair accessories, wooden window creations, and paintings on old aircraft parts.
”Ginger Moore from Hillsdale makes the paintings,” said Gimenez. “She’s a flight instructor and . . . has been painting for forever.”
For the shop owners, the idea for opening a consignment store had just been a recent development.
“[My family has] always done antiques my whole life,” Gimenez said, “But as far as starting a business, we just came up with that idea on our own about a year ago.”
Gimenez’s fascination with antiques and old objects started when she was just a little girl living on a farm.
“The fact that [the antiques] are old and have all that history behind them…I find that fascinating.”Gimenez said.
This fascination with history is what makes running and selling a consignment store enjoyable and worthwhile for the store owners.
“It’s the history that I like to find and sell to the customers.” Gimenez said.
Even throughout the move into the store, the owners kept up their optimism.
“We knew this was supposed to be a fun venture,” Gimenez said, “so it wasn’t stressful at all.”
The support from downtown businesses has also helped the move-in process seem more pleasant, said Gimenez.
“We had such a warm welcome from local businesses.” Gimenez said. “We’ve even had some come in and give us flowers.”
Along with the support from the businesses downtown, there have been locals from the community that regularly come two to three times a week to shop.
“I think they return because we have something new every 2-3 days that makes [our store] different every time.” Gimenez said. “It’s not like going back to the same store over and over”
Students on campus also support the new business and the versatility it offers.
“I enjoy shopping at local stores like this consignment shop already,” freshman Sarah Rinaldi said. “I love the uniqueness that stores like this have to offer.”
Recently in downtown Hillsdale, there has been a flourish of newly opened or soon to be coming businesses such as Cake Thyme bakery which is scheduled to open officially in November and a new pet shop soon to be located next door to the consignment store.
“The support that this store will bring to the community will be beneficial from an economic standpoint,” freshman Os Nakayama said.
With new shops and opportunities for local shoppers, more new businesses see an appeal to establish in the community.
“It’s great!” Gimenez said. “We welcome everyone to come on in so we can fill up these empty buildings.”
Now, with the store fully established and almost a month in business, they can finally reflect on the successful start of their new shop.
“Awesome!” Gimenez said, “It’s as simple as I can put it. To know [that] the business is all ours is just awesome.”
