• 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
    • Jefferson County Ambulance Services
    • School Construction In Jefferson County
    • Solar in Jefferson County
    • Remembering Hartstown
    • Waters of Jefferson County
    • 2022 Elections
    • Ambulances
  • Columnists
    • Editor’s Notes
    • Book Reviews
    • Nature
    • Environment
    • Education
    • Health & Wellness
    • Local History
    • Law
    • Government & Politics
    • A Little Time Away
  • Newsletter Sign-up

Primary Sidebar

Latest Stories

Route 340 Closure Begins Early In The Morning On September 12

Route 340 Closure Will Affect Traffic For Three Months

Route 340 Closure Traffic Will Hit Jefferson County And Surrounding Region

Childcare Options Needed In Jefferson County

Appalachian Heritage Festival At Shepherd University To Highlight Family And Community

School Attendance Matters For Academic Skills

State Legislature Meets For Special Session In August

West Virginia Legislature’s Meeting Schedule

Hammerhead Worm Has Odd Habits

Moulton Family Transfers 82 Acres To Expand Local Park

Grandparents Day Has West Virginia Roots

Making Connections To Overcome Roadblocks

Read all stories

In Print

Observer 2023-08 cover

The Vintage Lady Doesn’t Sit Still

August, 2020 Tagged With: 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 a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

You Might Also Like:

We encourage our readers to contact The Observer to suggest topics, events, artists, musicians, craft-persons, businesses, or restaurants you want us to feature. Use the contact form or email Connect@WeAreTheObserver.com.

Footer

Topics

  • Community
  • Economy & Environment
  • Education
  • Government
  • Public Health

Sightline Stories

  • Solar in Jefferson County
  • Remembering Hartstown

Columnists

  • WV Perspectives
  • Book Reviews
  • Nature
  • Environment
  • Education
  • Health & Wellness
  • Local History
  • Government & Politics

The Observer

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

Follow Us

  • Facebook

Copyright © 2023 WV Independent Observer LLC · Log in