TIVERTON — It was a different idea, Christine Francis said of selling vintage cat and dog merchandise in an online store a decade ago when her construction management job went by the wayside during the 2008 housing crash. It’s still the core of her business that recently located to Historic Tiverton Four Corners.
Called Carmen & Ginger, the shop in the 1840s Benjamin Seabury House, had been in the Arcade in downtown Providence for years, until March when she moved everything out and liquidated 80% of her inventory.
Things changed for her when she saw an ad for a space at Four Corners that offered retail space on the first level and living space on the second floor.
“Oh wow, I want to do this,” she thought of moving out of her loft apartment in the city and relocating to a quieter part of the state where she could still cater to tourists.
Named after her cat Carmen and her friend’s dog Ginger, the store opened two weekends ago when retail in the state was allowed to open again, nearly three months after nearly everything closed to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19.
Francis has hand sanitizing spray at the entrance to the shop, but visitors can choose to use soap and water in the bathroom under the stairs to clean their hands before they begin to touch anything.
A coat rack at the entrance has a few coats and several pairs of vintage leather boots, but she’s gotten away from having a lot of clothing for sale. Cases filled with vintage jewelry take up a corner of the store’s main room. Many pieces were made by Coro and Trifani, two of the largest costume jewelry companies that got their start in Rhode Island, operating from about the 1930s to 1980s. Most earrings are clip or screw-back which are hard to find in contemporary department stores.
There are many silver and gold mesh purses, some beaded ones, and an old hat box and old suitcase tucked in a corner.
“When the economy tanks vintage becomes popular,” Francis said, “because people don’t have the money for name brand.” But some people are just “very deliberate” about having vintage things because they want to live sustainably and don’t want to look like everyone else.
“I look everywhere all the time,” Francis says when asked where she gets her merchandise.
Two teal and white stoves from the 1930s, and a 1950s Raytheon television, help set the tone for the décor.
Not everything is old. There are new handcrafted rope leashes made by the Rhode Island-based Hope Rope Co., and cat and dog toys made in the state, including catnip French Fries made in Providence. She has cat and dog bow-ties and plans to make some bandanas from vintage material.
Francis said it’s important to her to have “a variety of price points.” She does have some high end merchandise but plenty can be had for under $10.
“I want people to come in and feel they got something special,” Francis said of trying to offer unique things people want to have.
Store hours are still fluid, but she does plan to be open Thursdays through Sundays and by appointment other days. She can be contacted at 401-742-7612 or on Facebook.