• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Observer

Stories of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle

  • Home
  • Sightline Stories
    • Solar in Jefferson County
    • Remembering Hartstown
  • Pandemic Stories
  • COVID-19 Resources

Primary Sidebar

Latest Stories

COVID-19 Relief Grants

March 5, 2021

Unlocking Options for Renters & Landlords in the Pandemic

March 5, 2021

March 21 — Virtual Walk In The Woods Fundraiser with PVAS

February 26, 2021

2021 American Conservation Film Festival

February 26, 2021

Exhibit at Berkeley Art Works Celebrates Historic African-American Cemetery

February 26, 2021

Book Review: Pop

February 26, 2021

March 5 — Virtual Concert: A Celtic Celebration

February 26, 2021

Feeling The Heartbeat Of Spring Emerging

February 26, 2021

March 9 — Speak Stories Presents Chetter Galloway

February 26, 2021

Take An Online Art Class This March At Berkeley Art Works

February 26, 2021

Connecting Solar In Jefferson County

February 24, 2021

A Look At Rural Zoning In Jefferson County

February 24, 2021

Read all stories

In Print

The Vintage Lady Doesn’t Sit Still

August 1, 2020 Tagged With: Cindy Dunn, COVID-19, Harpers Ferry, made in West Virginia, Vintage Lady

Sign for The Vintage Lady shop in Harpers Ferry

Cindy Dunn has owned The Vintage Lady shop since 2004, and she’s seen a lot of people walk through the door in the past sixteen years. That changed when the pandemic shut down her shop in March. Although she built up an online store during the temporary shutdown, she missed the spontaneous energy customers brought into the shop.

The store is open again — just Friday through Monday for now. While Cindy was glad to reopen, she noted, “the street seems busy, but not as busy as a normal summer. And it’s different when people come in only a few at a time. What I enjoyed most about the store was the energy, seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter as customers explored the merchandise. Everyone is more reserved now.”

Cindy spoke about the fire in 2015. “We lost everything. But it was an opportunity to rethink and refresh. We moved only a few doors up the street, but what we sell really changed. I focused on curating the merchandise, focusing on WV products — food, glass, jewelry. It’s become more of a mission for me over the past few years, to find and support local artists.”

Printed locally, worn globally.

As she spoke about the current challenges, Cindy described it as worse than the fire. “With the fire, you knew what to expect. There was a process with the insurance company, you knew what was lost. And what you had to do to reopen. Once the fire was out, there was a checklist of things to do, and a list of people to call. At the time I didn’t think anything would be worse than the fire, but this is. It’s not the complications and the rules, but the uncertainty. Not knowing if customers will be able to come in and shop next month, not knowing when the park will reopen, not knowing if I should plan to order merchandise or wait.”

“I know we’ll come through this, but it will be step by step. We’re still making plans and hoping we’ll be able to make them happen eventually.”

Visit The Vintage Lady at 180 High Street, Harpers Ferry West Virginia, at their website, or on Facebook.

By Staff Contributor

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

You Might Also Like:

Contact The Observer to submit a comment, send us a photo, share a story idea, or ask a question.

We encourage our readers to let us know about artists, musicians, craft-persons, merchants, restaurants, events, or places you want us to talk about.

If you want to write for The Observer or tell a story, let us know.

Footer

Local Coverage

  • Elections
  • COVID-19

Read Online

  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Book Reviews
  • Community
  • Economy & Environment
  • Education
  • Government
  • Public Health

Sightline Stories

  • Solar in Jefferson County
  • Remembering Hartstown

Local

  • Events and Live Entertainment
  • Shepherdstown
  • Harpers Ferry & Bolivar
  • Charles Town & Ranson

The Observer

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Connect With Us
  • Print Issues
  • Terms of Use

Follow Us

  • Facebook

Copyright © 2021 WV Independent Observer LLC · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.