Amber Sears came to Lansing for a training seminar and ending up setting up shop.
"The timing was just right," says Sears who recently hung her shingle for her second
Modern Vintage store in Lansing's Old Town. "I'm always looking for the right place to be and I knew Old Town would be accepting of the kind of store that I have."
Modern Vintage, Sears says, carries an array of new and small items with vintage sensibilities. She says her niche is "pretty stuff" with lots of pink, lots of flowers, and lots of delicate details. Her thousands of curated items from modern wholesalers include teacups, vases, jewelry, inspirational plaques and candleholders, as well as an assortment of lamps, tables and painted chairs.
"I like the ability to make people happy through shopping and buying little things they like," says Sears. "It's a form of escapism. Sometimes I feel that people are stressed when they come in, and being here helps them a little."
Sears also owns and operates a Modern Vintage store in Brighton. Her Old Town shop, like the sister store, favors a particular interior paint scheme, this one being a raspberry-pink and white. She strings holiday lights across the ceiling of the 900-square foot shop and displays objects on the table and chairs she sells rather than on conventional retail shelves.
"I see my stores a blank canvases," says Sears. "I paint and decorate to make them interesting."
Sears opened her store at 110 E. Grand River right before the December 2013 snow and ice storms. She hopes to have regular shop hours come spring.
"The weather has made it hard because it's so darn cold," she says. "I'm planning to plant flowers outside in the spring to welcome people in."
Source: Amber Sears, Owner, Modern Vintage
Writer: Ann Kammerer, Development News Editor
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