MY BIZ: Every item has a story in vintage store

CEDAR RAPIDS — Lynn Cassady has long had an affinity for old things.

“I’ve always loved vintage furniture and mid-century furniture,” she said. “I grew up around it, and I always thought everyone had that kind of home.”

Cassady opened Vintage2Die4 — which offers vintage home furnishings, decor and clothing — in Cedar Rapids a few months ago and is excited to watch it grow.

Each piece of furniture in the shop, she said, has personality.

“I give them all names, and I tell a backstory about them,” she said, noting that shoppers can check out posts on the store’s Facebook page to learn more about the items in the shop.

“I try my best to make it so everybody can find something here,” Cassady added. “We have art deco, some early 1900s, 1920s and 1930s things, and we have mid-century as well as ’60s and ’70s stuff. I just feel like it's a space where you can come in and find something no matter what era you are interested in.

“We have clothes and really cool conversation pieces and some weird things, too,” she added. “I want this to be a destination to shop at. Like if someone is coming in from out of town people say, ‘Oh, my gosh, you’ve gotta stop here.’ I want it to be eye-catching, just really cool stuff.”

One look at the skeletons on display in the shop’s front window and you can sense the store gives off a vibe and aesthetic all its own.

“I like spooky things,” Cassady said.

Visitors to the shop also should pop in and check out the bathroom, likely one of the most unique in Cedar Rapids.

Her website quips that Vintage2Die4 has the “best dead people’s stuff” in the city.

The venture started when Cassady began fixing up vintage pieces that needed some TLC.

A partnership with Central Furniture Rescue, a Cedar Rapids nonprofit that accepts donations of furniture and household items to give to families transitioning out of homelessness, also played a key role in the business growing.

“Central Furniture Rescue had some mid-century stuff and brought me a table that needed some work,” Cassady said. “I gave them some money for it and fixed it up. Then they found a dresser that needed some work. So I said how about if I fix it up, bring it back to its glory and, when I sell it, I’ll give a percentage back to the organization.”

When she started selling pieces on Facebook Marketplace and found her fixer-uppers sold quickly, she realized she might be onto something.

“Each one would get hundreds of likes and shares and a piece would sell in 20 minutes,” she said. “People started telling me I should open a shop.”

Cassady did a few pop-up events — a lot of work when hauling furniture is involved — before coming across an available retail space that seemed like the perfect fit for her store.

“It kind of fell into our laps,” she said. “And when I was told it was the old Cellar Door, I thought ‘what better spot?’ It was such an iconic antiques shop. So we decided to take the plunge.”

Vintage2Die4’s connection to Central Furniture Rescue remains strong, as Cassady and her family volunteer there and also donate a portion of the shop’s proceeds to support the nonprofit.

Cassady and her husband, Tony — whom she lovingly refers to as “the muscle” of the business — love to take road trips and take their trailer along in case they come across any interesting finds.

“I love that people walk in here, and you can see a core memory has been struck because they're like, ‘Oh my gosh, my mom had the same piece,’ or ‘This is like walking into my aunt’s living room.’ I've had people cry when finding an item because it strikes that memory so hard.”

The shop, open Thursdays through Saturdays and by appointment the rest of the week, will have its grand opening April 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cassady said they will raffling off a hutch, with proceeds benefiting Central Furniture Rescue, and she’s bringing in new pieces for the event.

“There’s going to be a lot of awesome stuff, good deals, and just a lot of fun.”

Know a business that should be considered for a “My Biz” feature? Let us know by emailing mary.sharp@thegazette.com.