Art show now underway at Prairie Chic until 4 p.m.!

Tienne Rei Kollars, of Herrin, Ill., is holding an art show at Prairie Chic today until 4 p.m.! She currently lives with her family in Southern Illinois. She was married to her husband Mike on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 2001 and hopes to eventually make a permanent move to the coast. Her sister, Tana Davis, recently moved to rural Hope and introduced Tienne's artwork to Prairie Chic.

Here are links to Tienne Rei Kollar's website and her Facebook page.

We are Prairie Chic Handcrafts and Antiques at 9 S. Broadway Herington, KS. Come on in and consign your furniture here, or check out our other vendor booths with vintage and handmade items while you are here, or consider us if you need climate-controlled indoor storage units on a monthly basis, also. If you have items that you are not interested in selling, but need more space in your home, we offer climate-controlled indoor storage units on a monthly basis, also. We have 10' x 10' for $105 a month or 5' x 7' for $65 a month, plus a $20 one-time administration fee to start your lease. We're open Wednesday though Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more about our store, see the More about our Store tab here.  To see some of the items we now have for sale, please view the our Facebook  album here. We also have a Pinterest page if you'd like to check that out.

If you have any other questions or prefer to call with your questions, please contact our store at (785) 258-8004 or the store manager, Stephanie Gilbert, at PrairieChicKansas@gmail.com or (785) 571-3955!

Preparing for Herington Vintage Days

We are gearing up for Herington Vintage Days this weekend, which will include special vendors for a one-day sale inside our store. During the event, we will also offer our special event vendor rates are of $2 per square foot prior to the show or $3 per square foot on the day of the show. You set up your own items on your own table and pay according to the size. Sorry, but if you have a circular table, it is measured on the square. This is on a "cash and carry" basis, so you tend your own sales and no credit cards nor collections will be taken by our staff.

Here is the schedule of activities that are going on Saturday in town. Prairie Chic is located at 9 S. Broadway St., between Day Street and Walnut Street, on the southeast corner of the block, as shown on the map.

We also have a new outdoor display, brought to Herington by Dr. Mark and Denise Homer, our store owners.

To see some of the items we now have for sale, please view the our Facebook  album here. We offer climate-controlled indoor storage units on a monthly basis, also. We also have a Pinterest page if you'd like to check that out. If you have any other questions or prefer to call with your questions, please contact our store at (785) 258-8004 or the store manager, Stephanie Gilbert, atPrairieChicKansas@gmail.comor (785) 571-3955!

Photo Scavenger Hunt planned around the area!

Did you know that the Tri-County Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Wild Wench Photo Scavenger Hunt today in the Tri-County area? You can join the fun by visiting the West Walnut Market from noon to 1 p.m.
We have antiques but also handcrafted, unique -- and some might even categorize them as bizarre -- items inside our store.

 The cattle skulls were originally $45 and are now priced at $40.50 according to our price down policy. 

 

The hunt event concludes this evening at the Herington Lanes and Block House Bar where winners will be announced. To follow the event from home, follow #WintheHunt on Facebook!

To see some of the items we now have for sale, please view the our Facebook  album here. 

We also have a Pinterest page if you'd like to check that out. 

If you have any other questions or prefer to call with your questions, please contact our store at (785) 258-8004 or the store manager, Stephanie Gilbert, at PrairieChicKansas@gmail.com or (785) 571-3955!

What's included in the cost of my booth space rental?

Several people have asked what all is included with booth space rental fee, so I wanted to take a few minutes and explain what the cost is covering.

* Marketing - I am already frequently posting on here (the Prairie Chic blog), and also on other websites to market the store. Soon, I'm going to be sending a news release out to the entire state! Once our website is up and running, and we have products on shelves, we'll post them on here, on Facebook, on our Etsy page, and help market them far beyond the Tri-County area. Keep in mind that any work the vendors do to help market their own products will also help the store, and help to sell their specific products, but vendors aren't required to reach out and promote the store itself. That's included in the cost.

* Staff - Although the vendors are required to staff the store for two hours each month, the other hours are free for vendors to be offsite. Making arrangements to meet up to sell products, while working around other family responsibilities and activities is not always feasible. Instead, the store manager and others are covering the majority of the time each month to keep the store open for regular business hours.

* Bookkeeping - We will be filing monthly tax reports on vendors' behalf.

* Building costs - The building cost, taxes and utilities are included with your rental space cost. If someone were to open their own storefront or home-based business, that expense would be theirs.

Mark and Denise have experience in the business and know that this venture, the marketing campaign, and the space itself are worth the vendors' costs.

"The objective is to bring business into town and to this rural area of Kansas which travelers enjoy exploring the Flint Hills," Denise Homer said. "If we are too high, area residents will instead fill up vacant buildings with flea markets, without taking a positive initiative to make the buildings appealing. We want to create a shopping experience, decorated storefronts and a reason for visitors to stop by, enjoy and shop. Win. Win. Win."

If you have any other questions about costs related to the store, or you would like to rent booth space or sell consignment items in the store, please contact Stephanie Gilbert, store manager, at PrairieChicKansas@gmail.com.

Let me introduce you ....

TLet me introduce you to the Prairie Chic, Handcrafts and Antiques store coming to Herington in April 2014! Mark and Denise Homer, from San Antonio, Texas, have purchased 9 S. Broadway St., in Herington.

We feel the use of "Prairie" will distinguish its location and "Chic" to the sense of style that can be expanded with what the merchants will be offering to their buyers on site or on the web.

Denise Homer will provide artistic guidance with a product mix that will encourage traveling "Antique Pickers" to visit Herington along their travels! She has a long history with interior design and has even been hired to "pick" for those special clients who do not have time or skill to travel to small towns or shops like Prairie Chic will create in Herington.

As for the Tri-County region (of Dickinson, Marion and Morris counties), this is our idea but this will be your business. We need a small army of motivated entrepreneurs to stock the shelves and help run the store. The items for sale will primarily be local which makes the success of this Prairie Chic a partnership between store owners and vendors.

We will be marketing items online (via sales websites such as Craigslist and Etsy) and with this -- our blog -- to create a more personal tie to the store.

If you have any questions or wish to get information on becoming a vendor at the Prairie Chic store, please contact Store Manager Stephanie Gilbert at PrairieChicKansas@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!