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Date: 5/16/2022
WARE – Owners/Paint and antique vendors Kristin Rosenbeck and Dennis Cote opened Lost & Found Mercantile in 2018 – a multi-vendor shop with a variety of items, from antiques and vintages to furniture and gifts. They carry several do-it-yourself creative supplies, as well as local honey, maple syrup, jellies and soaps.
“We’re very welcoming, casual and talk-friendly,” Rosenbeck said. “We’re very inviting and we love getting to know the people.”
Rosenbeck and Cote offer fun and affordable workshops at their studio, including furniture classes like furniture painting 101, many of advanced classes, one-on ones and make and take classes. They are trying to add other types of classes as well, such as sewing and jewelry making.
“I love teaching and showing someone how they can easily redo antique items themselves instead of buying something new that’s maybe not the best quality,” Rosenbeck replied. “It just brings out that creative side of them. That’s what I love the most about the classes I get inspired by the people and their excitement by what they can actually do. It’s not difficult at all.”
The shop has plenty of local goods and artisan products such as wood-turned items made from naturally fallen trees. They also host an outdoor market at the shop seasonally for people who like antiques, vintage and crafts.
Rosenbeck told Reminder Publishing she was always attracted to older things. Her mother was a tag-saler and her father collected antique tools. Every Friday morning, Rosenbeck’s mother would take her out and give her $1 to spend on tag sales with her and her friends. “I learned so much by being around my mom,” Rosenbeck said. “My father restored and paint furniture around the house. As a kid, I worked next to him in the basement learning about tools and how to fix them.” She went on to say, “I’m a firm believer that paint is therapy and I love bringing to life old furniture with a fresh coat of art.”
In 2012, Rosenbeck was ill with a neurological disorder and was out of work for quite some time. While recovering from brain surgery, Rosenbeck started to paint as an outlet. She found painting and doing little art projects as occupational therapy and she said it helped her emotionally by giving her purpose. She is now a group host in what is called “The Artist Playground” in a Facebook group called “The World of Chalk Paint,” doing live videos for her and Cote’s Dixie Belle Paint Company, and on her own Facebook page.
“Painting and refurnishing really became a huge part of my life,” Rosenbeck added. “The shop opened up a huge community of in-person and online friendships that never would have existed so I’m so thankful for that. Getting to know them, their families and their stories is the best part of the job.”
Lost & Found Mercantile is located on 126 W. Main St. Their hours are Thursdays and Fridays, 12 to 6 p.m., Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, 12 to 4 p.m. Visit their website at lostandfoundmercantile.com and their Facebook page for more information.