Fortville Vintage Boutique Is Making Your Old New Again
Photos provided by Time and Again and Lynda Hedberg Thies
When Allison Rose was a little girl, her greatest influence was her grandmother who would ship to her what appeared to be junk. She received random pen caps, tennis balls that didn’t bounce, a cassette tape of some musician that she didn’t know. But her grandma was not trying to unload her junk on her, but rather she had lived through the Depression and she saw value in everything. Rose credits her grandmother with her love and appreciation of used items.
Rose’s first project was taking discarded and unused pillowcases and turning them into baby and toddler sundresses for her daughter. The response from friends and family was overwhelmingly positive and requests for her unique dresses began to pour in. For a decade, Rose spent evenings and weekends doing craft shows throughout the Midwest Indiana, Ohio and Illinois, selling her repurposed vintage fabrics to make scarves, handkerchiefs and stuffed animals. She moved into custom gifts that either her clients designed or that she designed that were made of loved ones’ clothing items, blankets and, of course, pillowcases. Her success allowed her the opportunity to wait for just the right location.
In December of 2016, she opened a storefront on Main Street in Fortville. Opening her store in Fortville was an easy decision with the significant growth track the town is on. As a Fishers resident, Rose’s drive to Fortville is a quick seven-minute commute to her home near Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers and is in close proximity to Geist and Noblesville as well.
“Fortville really has great food and fantastic shopping, and I love that our shops all work with each other and plan events such as regular GNO’s,” Rose says. “It is such an exciting time to be part of the growth of this town.
“My shop is very much me,” she adds. “It’s a collection of things that make me happy. It’s handmade. It’s vintage. It’s repurposed. It’s fun. It’s quality handmade items I know I would buy for myself and that others would appreciate.”
She has 25 other makers as well as two kid entrepreneurs in the shop. She also offers kits to budding DIYers on their way.
“But my favorite thing about my shop is the emotions my work brings out in people and hearing, ‘That’s so cool’ or ‘I had these sheets as a kid’ or ‘I wonder if she’ll make something out of grandpa’s handkerchief, pillowcase or shirt,’” Rose says.
The store is full of the unique gift ideas for teachers, new moms, and those custom one-of-a-kind gifts that are vintage, antique or pre-made. Then there are custom gifts where you can bring in your vintage linens from the fabrics of your loved ones and Rose will consult with you about how to make sentimental items to repurpose the material that revives new memories from “old” things that makes her the happiest.
“It’s knowing I am helping to make someone warm and fuzzy inside,” she says. “So whatever you do, don’t throw anything out, just bring it to me.”
Time & Again Shop is open Wednesday, 12-4p.m., Thursday 11a.m. – 5p.m., Friday-Saturday 10am. -5p.m. and Sunday 12-4p.m. Visit them online at timeandagainshop.com or give them a call at 317-747-0122.
