Robyn Hansen is not afraid to think outside the box, and that will serve her well in her new business adventure.
Hansen’s Sweet Treats & More consignment store opens today (Sept. 3) in downtown Walnut Grove, and inside shoppers will find numerous items that cannot be found at your typical box store. There is nothing mass-produced here.
“I’m not one who wants to be like somebody else,” Hansen said. “I like to be different, and I like different things. I can guarantee you’re not going to find stuff like this anywhere else. It’s special, because these things are handmade.”
This isn’t Hansen’s first goaround in the building. Just last year she closed her boutique because over three years, she found it difficult to devote enough time to it. She thought she had the building sold, but the sale fell through. Letting a nice building sit empty wasn’t an option, however, and that’s part of how Sweet Treats & More came to be.
“Instead of sitting on a building that might not sell for another year — we’ve still got bills to pay, so I thought, ‘Well, what can we do?’” Hansen’s first thought was a candy store, and she will sell salt water taffy and flavored popcorn this fall. But this will be more than a candy store, as Hansen has recruited 14 vendors.
“I had help from my mom and another gal and they said, ‘Do a consignment,’” said Hansen. “I’m like, ‘But I want to do candy!’ We’re going to do both. We put out on Facebook that we were looking for vendors — handcraft and vintage.”
Hansen is looking forward to shoppers experiencing a wide variety of items, from doll clothes and bean bags, to engraved items, aprons and things for the kids.
“And we have glassware, and pens and pencils made out of wood mostly from the Walnut area,” she said. “There will be little crocheted animals, we have rugs — almost like a one-stop shop.”
Hansen said her store is for the town, a way for her to provide something so “we can keep going as a town,” she said. “We’re a tourist town, so for me, it’s especially nice to have something for tourists. It’s a small town so we don’t have much, but I don’t want to see a building empty. And I love the building.”
The store will be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays.
