“Can a store be both totally old-fashioned and on point for current trends at the same time?” That’s the question author Gail Ciampa asked in her recent Providence Journal article about The Vermont Country Store.
It’s a question my brothers and I ask ourselves a lot. We take great joy in being able to offer old-fashioned products that people remember fondly. In a world where all you seem to hear about is the next best thing, there’s nothing better than being there at the moment when someone re-discovers a childhood toy or game or candy they thought was gone forever.
But we are also practical storekeepers through and through, and that means the products we sell have to have a purpose. They have to work as well — or better — than modern equivalents.
For example, our Gilhoolie Jar Opener is the same tool that your grandmother had in her drawer to unscrew the lids on stubborn jars. People keep buying them because they work, they last and nothing does the job better.
The same is true for our Mountain Weave tablecloths. They come in all the colors of the rainbow now, but they are just the same as when your mother served Sunday dinner on them. They wash well, and hold up for years. Customers tell us they are among their treasured linens passed down from generation to generation.
The Vermont Country Store Cookbook, which was the subject of Ms. Ciampa’s review, is another case in point. It features recipes by our grandmother, Mildred, who was a pioneer in whole-food cooking. She promoted whole grains and farm-fresh ingredients. This was considered old-fashioned at a time when the nation was turning to TV dinners and processed foods bought at the “supermarket.”
Now, though, our grandmother’s wise ways are suddenly in again, as more people discover—or rediscover—healthy eating and a simpler way of life. Trends may come and go, but we will remain thrifty, practical storekeepers providing our customers with products and services that are second to none. With those values guiding us, we expect The Vermont Country Store to be “trendy” for a long time to come — today, tomorrow and always.
Eliot Orton
Proprietor of The Vermont Country Store
When we moved to Israel in 1999, I brought along an old, beloved, Vermont Country Store catalog of 2007. Heaven forbid that somebody steals this treasure from my “secret storage place” (the old piano bench–but please don’t tell!!) I still wear some of the items I bought back those years ago, though they’ve become somewhat threadbare in the intervening years. “Old Fashion is still GOOD fashion for me. In the old catalog there are things that may not still be available which I would still love to have.
I too love old fashioned things!
Are you old fashioned? YES! But as my mother always said, “Old fashioned is the BEST!” Old fashioned is the new trendy. Don’t ever change.
People love nostalgia but we are also practical. I still have and use items from my grandmother’s kitchen. I love looking through your catalogs and seeing the same things! Thanks and keep the faith!