A MODERN DAY TREASURE HUNT. That's what Collective Charm (16 W. Columbia St., Chippewa Falls) really offers – aisles and aisles of antique and vintage treasures just waiting to be (re)discovered.

Collective Charm’s 12,000-square-foot marketplace of antique, vintage and local goods certainly makes its case as one of western Wisconsin’s must-go storefronts for seasoned treasure (antique) hunters and curious shoppers alike.

Roughly 70 unique vendors fill the Chippewa Falls store space from floor to ceiling – seriously, if you forget to look up, you might miss out on your next prized painting, neon beer signage or other come-up – which welcomes new inventory weekly, if not daily.

Collective Charm's (16 W. Columbia St.) rows of aisles have it all: glassware galore; books, magazines and paper ephemera; curated clothing and accessories; refurbished and lovingly worn furniture; vintage vinyl records and old-school film cameras; kitschy goods from every era and that trinket you didn’t know you’d been searching for.

Still, it’s not just the sheer volume of goods waiting to be rediscovered that continually draws customers in, but the immense care that is put into every nook and cranny of the space.

We get that question – 'is there anything new?,' 'how often do you get new stuff?' – all the time from customers. It's fun to say, 'literally daily.' –Johna Stern, owner of Collective Charm

How does one curate a vendor marketplace with such diversity and intention? Taste, time and honesty, in Collective Charm’s case.

Owners Johna and Aaron Stern approach their fifth year as the small business’s owners, while Collective Charm itself approaches its tenth anniversary. After nearly a decade, a number of vendors have sold goods there that entire time – and plenty of newer ones have added their tell-tale twists and styles to the ever-growing marketplace.

After about a decade as a teacher, Johna felt burnt out and was trying to figure out what she really wanted in life. She also had her own vintage furniture-focused shop, Studio 111, in Eau Claire’s historic Banbury Place (800 Wisconsin St., Eau Claire) and needed to decide whether to dive into that headfirst or make a change.

Then, the Sterns heard the former owners of Collective Charm were looking to either sell their business or close it down. Some serious conversations between them and their family later, and the Sterns took the plunge.

“It was terrifying, exciting and almost a relief (to make that leap),” Johna said.

“While, yes, we are financially responsible for this whole big machine, it’s all of our vendors and our amazing staff and our customers (that makes this place run),” she continued. “That’s what this is: it’s a huge collaboration.”

It would be less taxing, perhaps, to offer a more traditional approach to operating an antique marketplace – expansive places where the sifters and diggers are the winners, casual perusers left empty-handed more often than not – but the Sterns require a specific level of attention to detail from their in-house vendors.

Overall though, people are looking for quality; they're looking for nostalgia. They're looking for things that remind them of happy times with their family or loved ones. –Johna Stern, owner of Collective Charm

“We also try really hard to work with vendors on merchandizing, making sure things are tidy, displays are neatly put together,” John said.

“We get that question – ‘is there anything new?,’ ‘how often do you get new stuff?’ – all the time from customers,” she added. “It’s fun to say, ‘literally daily.’ … We want to make sure all our vendors come in (to work on) their booths at least twice a month; most are bringing in new stock weekly.”

Price points range significantly at Collective Charm, a result of the great diversity in goods and non-adherence to any one particular timeframe or “era” of antique and vintage items.

Johna, with a deep-rooted adoration of vintage furniture and restoration, pointed out the “killer furniture” offered at the store, which can range from around $10 or $20 to several hundred dollars depending on the piece.

For younger shoppers – teenagers and 20-something-year-olds – she has observed a general draw toward ‘80s and ‘90s styles. Really, though, there is no singular trend that’s made the difference for Collective Charm, she said; its growth is due to a mix of excellent in-house collaboration and organic interest.

“Vintage is trendy,” Johna said. “(But) I’m always shocked at the amount of people that say, ‘I’ve never been (to Collective Charm) before.’ I feel like we’re on social media pushing all the time, but it just goes to show, word-of-mouth and in-person experiences are so important.”

To that end, plenty of regular and new faces have taken to visiting Chippewa Falls’ Columbia Street thanks to Collective Charm’s semi-regular outdoor vendor markets – made unique through a couple of years of testing what customers were drawn to.

“This past year, our Spring Fling Flea was our biggest event to date,” Johna said. “We had 36 vendors, two food trucks and it was the best day. The vendors were wonderful and we got really good customer feedback. … We want to give people another opportunity to visit to Chippewa Falls, to invite them to come to Collective Charm.”

“Overall though, people are looking for quality; they’re looking for nostalgia,” Johna said. “They’re looking for things that remind them of happy times with their family or loved ones.”

On any given day – Collective Charm is open seven days a week – shoppers can expect to light up with fond memories triggered by a vintage item reminiscent of their youths, laugh over a tongue-in-cheek saying printed on an old Tee, or find comfort in the rhythm of moving from aisle to aisle for hours on end.

Don't be fooled; this may look like the first display area one sees upon entering Collective Charm, but it's actually a portal – one that, once you step through, you can't help but wander around Collective Charm for hours and hours and hours. (Or is that just me?)

Visit Collective Charm (16 W. Columbia St., Chippewa Falls) from 10am-5pm, Monday-Friday; 10am-4pm on Saturday; Noon-4pm on Sunday • Keep up with the local gem on social media or learn more at www.collectivecharmantiques.com • Collective Charm's next outdoor vendor market, the Fall Flea, is coming up on Sept. 26