On a Clintonville block teeming with antique shops and boutiques, the newest, Vintage Toast, will fit right in. The concept, developed by local Jocelyn Blakely, inhabits the former Cottage Street space at 3284 N. High Street and presents a unique combination of clothing and accessories as well has home goods and furniture.
Blakely, a long-time appreciator and collector of all things quirky and vintage, offers a store of handpicked items from various time periods. Prior to opening Vintage Toast, Blakely was managing the Grandview Mercantile, all the while dreaming of having her own space curated to her tastes.
“I just was ready to kind of do my own thing, and rather than executing someone else’s plans, I could just kind of have my own vision and do it and not feel like I was playing by someone else’s guidelines,” she said.
Not wanting to be pigeonholed into one concept or idea, she’s made Vintage Toast to be a place to find one-of-a-kind treasures gathered from auctions, garage sales, estate sales and private sellers.
“Most of the houses I go into when I’m really excited about how they have it decorated, it is just things pulled from all different time periods — some new things, some art deco, some mid-century — and that’s when I get really excited, because it’s a personality. You get to know that person,” Blakely said. “That’s how I decorate personally in my home, and I tried to bring that idea here so you could find a little bit of everything.”
The store occupies two 1,000 square foot rooms — one for home goods, the other for clothing and accessories — and sits near other shopping destinations, including Bundle Vintage Store, Boomerang Room Vintage, Eclectiques and Rag-O-Rama.
Blakely will celebrate the store’s grand opening this Saturday, April 22. Starting at 10 a.m., she’ll be offering 10 percent off of everything, as well as food from the Aloha Streatery food truck (2 to 6 p.m.) and beer from Rhinegeist to sate her new clientele. If all goes well, she may even regularly feature the food truck to garner even more weekend foot traffic.
Vintage Toast will be open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, visit vintagetoast.com.
