VENDORS IN the vintage and antiques marketplace at Urban Basics offer handmade craft items, original art, knick-knacks, household decor and more. Each independent vendor brings his or her unique touch to decorating and stocking the booths.
URBAN BASICS in Battle Ground recently added a 7,000-square-foot vintage and antiques marketplace to their store. The marketplace features 75 different vendors like this one who each set up their own unique space to sell items.
The owners of Urban Basics in Battle Ground recently decided to give the store a makeover.
Kari Huegel and her sons, Travis and Derek, took ownership of the store – which previously housed Value Giant and Cenex – in October of 2012.
“My oldest, Derek, came in the store to buy a sofa on his wife’s request,” Kari said. “He came out owning the store. He had borrowed money from me to purchase his home. He returned that money to me in the form of an old store with a leaky roof. Credit to him he put in a large chunk of money, too.”
Derek and Travis own and run a construction company, Wolf Industries, which is currently working on a remodel for the store. Kari said they are hoping the remodel will be done this month.
“We were tired of being ugly,” Kari said. “I asked the boys what we could do to make the front a little more appealing. Derek planned it, drew up the plans, talked to the city, then him and his crew built it. It was more than I expected.
“Travis took over the project on the inside,’’ Kari added. “I asked him if he would build booths for me out of chicken wire. He shook his head no and said, ‘I will build horse stalls.’ Our vintage, antique marketplace looks more like a barn. It is a wonderful backdrop to all the great displays the 70-plus vendors have put together.”
The 7,000-square-foot vintage and antiques marketplace currently features 75 vendors. The Huegels held a grand opening for the new space this past weekend.
In addition to Urban Basics’ older offerings, vendors in this new retail space offer handmade craft items, original art, knick-knacks, household decor and more. Kari said each of the 75 independent vendors brings his or her unique touch to decorating and stocking the booths.
“We have some very talented and creative vendors,” she said. “There are antiques, vintage, re-purposed furniture and clothing, home decor, artist work. We have an author of children’s books, a couple of photographers, there is something here for everyone.”
A booth operated by Brian Drake and Mike Heyer is set up as a portrait studio. Heyer, who won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, said customers may use items from other vendor booths as props in their photographs.
One vendor sells soaps made from milk from her family’s goats, another booth features long-lasting wreaths made from dried local plant material and leaves preserved in glycerin.
“I’m very excited and very blessed to have so many people share their talents,” Kari said.
All vendor spaces in the marketplace area are currently full, but Kari said they do have a waiting list.
In order to accommodate the vintage and antiques marketplace, Kari said they had to shrink their furniture and rug area a bit. She has also asked her sons to update and remodel the craft side of the store.
In the past, Kari said Urban Basics has had a challenge with their identification of what type of store they are. She said they now say they are “Antiques, Crafts and Things,” which includes a yarn shop, quilt shop, scrapbooking, wood crafts, art supplies, beading and embroidery.
“This next year I will be looking for some more neat items for the store, maybe candlemaking, soapmaking, etc.,” Kari said.
The new Urban Basics marketplace will also join in the monthly First Fridays in the Old Town Battle Ground area. The store will have extended hours on First Fridays and will be open until 9 p.m. First Friday shoppers can pick up a postcard that has all of the participating vintage and antique shops on it, and if a shopper goes to all the shops on the card, they can enter their postcard with their name on it for a drawing.
The host shop for that month provides the prize for the drawing. Each shop plans their own events and activities for First Friday, whether it is a sale, some goodies or something else.
Future activities planned for the marketplace include demonstrations by vendors, sewing classes, social art classes and even an auction.
Urban Basics is located at 209 E. Main St., Battle Ground. Store hours are Mon.-Sat., 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. For more information, call the store at (360) 666-5331, email urbanbasics@yahoo.com or visit their Facebook page.
