Vintage Hot Spot Store Tour: Wholly Craft Columbus, OH

Vintage Indie would like to welcome you to another Vintage Hot Spot Shop Tour! Today we welcome Olivera of Wholly Craft, located in Columbus Ohio! 

 

Wholly Craft Store Front

Hi Olivera, thanks so much for the interview. Can you tell us about when Wholly Craft was born? 

We opened our doors in October 2005 and moved into a bigger storefront in the summer of 2007.

What kind of store is Wholly Craft?
We carry a wide variety of handmade goods from over 100 crafters and artists. Our selection includes clothing, jewelry, handbags, baby items, paper goods, kitchen ware, bath goods, zines, hair accessories and more. We also carry a few DIY craft kits and patterns and vintage craft supplies, including knitting needles, yarn, instructional books, and trims.

We carry tons of screen printed designs, all printed on sweatshop free tshirts.  Our best selling designs let customers wear their Ohio pride on their sleeves.

What is your shop address?
3169 N. High St. Columbus, Ohio 43202. We’re in the Clintonville neighborhood of Columbus, ten minutes from downtown and just north of the Ohio State University.

One stop shopping for baby showers. Onsies, leg warmers, natural teethers, belly balm for expecting moms and more.

What are your hours?

1-8pm weekdays. 12-7pm Saturdays. 12-5pm Sundays. And we’re closed on Tuesdays. In December, we’re open everyday 12-8pm.

AmyD is a favorite local designer who uses vintage and reclaimed materials in most of her work. The vintage men’s shirt turned unisex apron is a classic.

Do you hold any special events at your store?

We do! We host crafty classes and workshops on a regular basis. The class schedule is published in our monthly email newsletter and posted on our blog at www.whollycraft.blogspot.com  We also host local bands, traveling authors, and the occasional puppet show. On the second Saturday of December, we host our Midnight Madness Sale which is a fun holiday celebration benefiting a local charity. And in 2010, we’ll be hosting bi-monthly art shows in the shop as well. It’s a busy place!

Handmade scarves, printed tote bags, and recycled handbags co-exist peacefully with the creatures of Berkley Illustration. 

Zine section: We carry several self-published zines and books from local writers and from Microcosm Publishing. The posters are the Celebrate People’s History series from Just Seeds.

Is shopping indie and small businesses important to you? If so, why?

Absolutely. When shopping at a small business, you still get that level of personal interaction that transforms bland, cold consumption into a warm and pleasurable human experience. Small businesses and cottage industries strengthen our communities and when they are successful, they can offer meaningful employment to a number of people. Supporting these businesses means supporting people’s modest dreams of sustainability, not buying into a system that thrives on greed and exploitation.

Fondue: Fondue creates home décor, including these light switch plates, from original vintage wallpaper. The patterns they use are incredible! 

Uncle John: We were thrilled to find this vintage advertisement hidden behind a canvas cover when we moved the shop into this space. It adds a lot of charm to the room, but sometimes I feel the burn of Uncle John’s stare.

Red Raven Studios: Red Raven Studios from Pittsburgh specializes in gorgeous pendants made from vintage china patterns.

  Emily Kircher, Recycling Artsit uses images from vintage children’s books to create unique bottlecap brooches.

In addition to loving all that is handmade, I have to admit to being a long-time vintage junkie! So it’s very exciting to be featured on this awesome site! Endless Saturdays spent yard saling have led to a ridiculously full basement (and garage and spare bedroom…), so to lighten the load we’re opening an Etsy site this month devoted strictly to fun vintage finds. All those 1950’s knitting patterns and 1970’s ceramic owls I just couldn’t pass up can now be yours at whollycraft.etsy.com

Angie Wright: Angie Wright Designs offers pendants and rings fashioned from vintage typewriter keys.

Revelry: Revelry press makes these amazing vintage-inspired coasters. Heavy duty and fun to boot.

Wholly Craft
3169 N. High St.
Columbus, OH 43202
(614) 447-3445
Open 1-8pm Weekdays, 12-7 Saturdays, 12-5pm Sundays.
Closed on Tuesdays.

www.whollycraft.net

I can't exclaim any louder than this, that this time in our economy it is vital that we support the independent small businesses. Thanks to Olivera for sharing your wonderful store with us and your passions behind it.