Instagram, and Pinterest are great for photos, but can you really capture all the fun and memories of a day trip in a single post? Consider putting the smartphone down and visiting an antique store for memory making, keepsakes instead.

Small town, antique stores are great resources for locally made or local business ephemera or products. From posters of a bygone local brewery, bracelet charms, historic maps of a park or town, to an old postcard of the resort or supper club hotel a wide variety of souvenirs can be found and memories made..

Antique stores are also part of the recent trend of decluttering and downsizing. "We’re not seeing the 1990s when Victorian (furniture) was hot. Now more utility is in. Things that don’t have a purpose don’t find a home,” says Sue Duncan owner of Odana Antiques in Madison. Customers today are seeking out antique stores as a better alternative to big box stores like Ashley’s Furniture, and Steinhafels. Dining tables, cabinets, headboards, and chairs in an antique store are usually made better and of superior sourced materials, but more importantly, often cost less than the mass-produced alternatives.

Buying is also seasonal now according to Duncan. In the fall customers are looking for quilts, blankets, snow shoes, and items more purposeful for the winter months. While spring and summer yields an uptick in sales for items like canoe paddles, water skis, and outdoor furniture.

Additionally, sales of 18^th and 19^th century furniture in the 21^st century have plummeted. This fact is solely a result of changing design trends. What does that mean for you at the antique store? You might find a deal on Victorian furniture or older items like an 18th century Georgian trunk, or a set of china. 

Lastly, if that Scooby Doo lunch box you desire is a few dollars more in an antique store than on eBay buy it!

It is always better to shop local. Every dollar you spend locally recirculates in the regional economy and may just help repair a local road, support a school or fix a dam. 

And this Fall (March 5 & 6) you will have a chance to support many local stores on Main street across the state and Northern Illinois.

Vintage Shop Hop

Thinking local is exactly what motivated Ann Campos, the former head of the Northern Illinois Tourism Council, tourism promoter and marketer to start Vintage Shop Hop (VSH.) eight years ago. From Green Bay to the Chicago Suburbs, this biannual, two-day event is a celebration of main street. small business. From her desk as head of the Northern Illinois Tourism Council Campos saw how smaller towns were outside looking in when it came to promotion coverage by area, visitor tourism boards. Most of their attention was "tied to room stays so they were covering businesses but not covering small campgrounds or antique stores that resided in towns where you didn’t have visitor tourism bureau,' says Campos. Vintage Shop Hop puts those stores on the map and gives them the attention they deserve. VSH has become so popular over 400 antique and boutique store event now participate.

Campos, the owner of Nellie's Barn Sale, understands that tor many, small town stores in a time COVID-19 Vintage Shop Hop is a lifeline. “These small businesses right now are fighting for their lives. They’re not Kohls, Target, or Hobby Lobby. They don’t have $1,000,000 dollar marketing budgets. These small businesses have zero marketing dollars, they’re just getting by." Ann Campos says. Many of these stores featured in VSH are husband and wife owned without a 401k waiting for them.

For all of us, COVID-19 is front center each time we go out to shop, or visit a park. Safety was on Ann Campos’s mind when she created this year’s Eventbrite registration for stores participating in the Vintage Shop Hop. “They (the shops) all registered electronically. One of the questions on the registrations form was: Yes or No, do you require staff to wear masks and guests to wear masks?" says Campos. From the data captured by Eventbrite a spreadsheet was created and from there pins on a Google map. ""When you click on an individual, map pin you can find out the name of the business, its' address, contact information and how they answered those questions regarding COVID-19,." explained Campos.

Keeping guests safe is all about the details. John Eddy, co-owner with his wife Barb of Vintage Pickins in Edgerton says they "require mask wearing, clean off surfaces frequently while trying to limit the number of customers if it gets real busy." Vintage Pickins is an antique store participating in this weekend's Vintage Shop Hop. It is the first weekend John and Barb's store has been open since Christmas.

Fostering Community

Vintage Hop Shop is about being part of much larger picture. "If you promote together you become a destination," says Ann Campos.

Ulimately, shopping local is about community. Target is not going away. “When you go to grocery shop at Walmart consider buying that Birthday card, pillow, or gift at a local store instead,” says Campos.

And remember to wear your mask and socially distance.

If You Go

Best of all, in the this era of COVID-19, Vintage Shop is, the self-described "Motherlode of all roadtrips" a self-guided tour. Each store is required to have an “in-store” promotion so be on the lookout for that.

When: This Fall TBA.

Where: All across the state of Wisconsin and parts of northern Illinois

Visit Vintage Shop Hop's Google docs for a complete list of antique stores and boutiques and

their useful Google Map for locations, and details about each business. Find Vintage Shop Hop's

website here.

A handy recommendation, Ann Campos suggests printing out a copy of the map

and list before you go have coffee with your friends and plan out the

day.

The map below (courtesy of Ann Campos) was active for the March 2021 event. Please call ahead of time

as the hours shown were for that weekend event only. Readers should check ahead of time to be sure

shops are open. Some are barn events that are seasonal as well so they may not always be open.