A rare take on retro

by Taryn Ripple

Step off the streets of modern day Des Moines into a retro wonderland of the mid-twentieth century, into a world of mid-century kitsch and tacky but charming avant-garde interior design. Funky Finds Vintage & Retro boasts a vast collection of memorabilia from the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s that ranges from clothing to furniture to electronics to housewares.

The shop opened in 2012 and is a family owned and operated business. Owner Suzie Fredregill explained that she sold vintage collectibles on a smaller scale prior to the birth of Funky Finds at a booth in an antique mall. It became so popular that Fredregill decided to expand; she bought a building in downtown Des Moines and the rest is history (literally). Today, Funky Finds enjoys a following of nearly 12,000 people.

“Over the past seven years it has turned into a great environment,” Fredregill said. “It’s a really great space for people [to spend time in].”

There’s not a bare wall or shelf in the place; every square inch is covered with retro posters, vinyl album covers, vintage ornaments. Each drawer and cabinet is stuffed to the brim with decades-old curios. The whole shop smells stale and musty, like an ancient book or your grandmother’s house — in the best possible way.

One side of the shop’s main floor is devoted to clothing in the style of mid-century fashion; retro scarves, dresses, jackets, pants and skirts, hats, and everything in between line the walls and crowd the racks.

On the other side of the room, shelves display knickknacks and trinkets; antique photos, obsolete cameras, classic vinyls. Out-of-date books and magazines lay in stacks, their pages crinkled and yellow with age.

Though the upper level of the shop is bursting at the seams, it barely scratches the surface of everything the thrift store has to offer.

The basement of Funky Finds is divided into five rooms and feels more like a museum or a house than a store. Customers can float from one room to the next and immerse themselves in the culture and aesthetic of the mid-twentieth century.

Funky Finds purchases much of its merchandise from people who are willing to part with their retro belongings. The shop relies on its patrons to both buy and sell goods. According to Fredregill, her store’s clientele also help to shape the business itself.

“The customers are the best part of Funky Finds,” Fredregill said. “They are so unique and so varied. Everybody has different taste in the strangest stuff; it’s got to be the people here, the people who love this.”

Think of the decorative magnets often found on refrigerators, the ones that feature ’50s housewives saying things like, “Why do dishes when you can do daiquiris?” and “I haven’t had my coffee yet, don’t make me kill you!” If these magnets could embody a physical place, they’d epitomize the atmosphere of Funky Finds.

Many of the items for sale fall into that same category of campy, offbeat, or just plain zany: Dating and bridal guides offering ridiculous advice, posters and advertisements depicting bizarre scenes involving nudity and alcohol, mannequins and figurines and pottery of outlandish characters.

“People back then were so kitsch and lighthearted,” Fredregill said. “They had a really great sense of humor. Those irreverent, off-the-wall pieces — that’s the best stuff here.”

Related posts:

There are times when you want users to update your app the moment it is live on the playstore. If the same thing is done from the client side, as a snippet being embedded in the app, it would persist…