Cozy Vintage Vida offers sentimental gifts
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POLSON — The building housing Vintage Vida Antiques and Gifts, 3 Fourth Ave. E, was constructed in 1890 on railroad ties, according to LaNita Fitzpatrick, owner. It was Polson’s first boot and saddle shop, but now it’s full of “pieces of everybody’s past,” Fitzpatrick said, crediting Sharon Murphy for the descriptor.
The small building’s wiring had to be completely redone, and Fitzpatrick painted the interior a lake blue and put down carpeting before opening on June 30.
“They turned the power on at 8 a.m., and I was open at 10 a.m.,” Fitzpatrick said.
The store is cozy and welcoming with a vintage enamel stove by the front door. Antique tables are set with vintage glassware and dishes, prints, paintings and photographs hang on the walls, and jewelry and unique tchotchkes are tucked everywhere. In the corner, a tall Christmas tree is loaded with vintage and funky ornaments.
Fitzpatrick has always liked vintage items, and she’s been a collector for several years. She’s the type of person who is sentimental about gifts from special people, so “I use the good dishes everyday; I burn the candles,” she said.
Fitzpatrick talked the idea of a shop over with Denny Wilson, local antique and vintage guru, who encouraged her to follow her dream.
“Denny is my mentor, my biggest cheerleader and my confidante,” she said. “God just worked out everything else.”
She collects stock for her store from estate sales and from retired antiquers, mostly unique items.
“I will think, ‘That is never going to sell,’” Fitzpatrick said, but it will.
Big sellers in Vintage Vida are elephants, frogs and pigs. She just can’t keep them on the shelves.
She likes visiting with customers.
“I’m a talker, and I get to talk to people every day,” Fitzpatrick said, smiling.
Hours for Vintage Vida Antiques and Gifts are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. These hours are subject to change after Christmas.
“This is my final career, and I’m just loving it,” Fitzpatrick explained.
