Carla ThompsonStorefront of the new Vintage store.

‘Vintage’ store fits right in

After owning and operating “Mary Louise”, a vintage store in Marshall, for the past four years Carla Thompson will be moving her business to Minneota. “Mary Louise” is named after Carla’s mother, who passed away 21 years ago.

“I was trying to think of a way to name the store after my grandma and my mother but nothing fit,” she explained. “My mother’s name was Mary Louise, so I just thought I would call it that.”

Thompson’s vintage shop will be located in a portion of the small building that was previously the Schotts Building at 220 North Jefferson Street.

A store sign made from an old ladder that previously was inside the Marshall store, now hangs outside the location of the upcoming new store in Minneota.

“I wanted to downsize to an occasional store,” she said about making the move to Minneota.

“I closed the Marshall store on Thursday (Sept. 20).” An occasional store is one that is only open a few days a week. Thompson, a Marshall native, has lived two miles west of Minneota along Highway 68 with her husband Troy for the past 20 years. Troy owns and operates Thompson Excavating.

Thompson's new store will fit in nicely with other specialty shops in town such as B Lenore, J's Dream, This and That Recreated and ONE MORE TIME Thrift Store.

“I know people consider my place an antique store” said Thompson. “But I consider it a vintage store, although I do sell a few antiques. It will be a store with vintage treasures and gifts.”

Thompson explained that an antique store sells items that are generally 100 or more years old, while a vintage store sells items 30-or-more years old.

“Some people even call them ‘vintique’ stores now; combining vintage and antique items,” said Thompson. After painting, cleaning and putting up window treatments, Thompson began the process of moving some of the items from the Marshall store into the new one in Minneota recently.

“The building is in good shape,” she said. “It didn’t need a lot of work.”

Thompson hopes to have her vintage store up and running by Oct. 17. “I’m planning to have a Grand Opening on Nov. 10 during the North Pole Extravaganza,” Thompson noted.

Tentative plans are for Thompson’s store” to be open on Wednesdays from 4-7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“I’ll have a little bit of everything in the store; from old lamps to pottery,” she said.

“One of the things I sold in the store in Marshall that was very popular with customers is a handcrafted soy and beeswax candle line.”

“I’ll also have retro items such as 1950s TV’s, board games, jewelry, and some vintage clothing.”

Thompson first became interested in owning a vintage store when she would be a vendor at many shows around the area. Among the popular items she sold were “Nature Names”.

“I find pictures of alphabet objects in nature and spell out names and make signs out of them,” she explained.

The Mascot owns and displays one of those signs that appropriately spells out “Mascot”.

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The Minneota Mascot
Address: 201 N. Jefferson
Minneota, MN 56264

Phone:(507) 872-6492