Summerside vintage shop hopes to put new spin on thrift store shopping

The owners of a new vintage clothing store in Summerside, P.E.I., hope to put a new spin on thrift shopping and help build the city's downtown small business community.

Tuck N Roll Vintage Clothing specializes in clothing and merchandise from the 1980s and 90s. The shop's collection includes vintage sports jerseys, records, toys, hats and shoes.

Robbie Carruthers opened the shop with his partner in December.

"Eighties and 90s is vintage now," Carruthers said. "It's what we love, I mean it's the stuff we grew up with."

Carruthers said he started collecting clothing from thrift stores and online a few years ago until he had acquired nearly 500 pieces. He added that opening a vintage shop was a natural next step to keep his passion for collecting going.

"For me, it's kind of like the bedroom I couldn't afford when I was a kid," Carruthers said. "It's a walk down memory lane and it's nostalgic and I think that it's a feel-good kind of shop."

Building small businesses downtown

Carruthers said he opened the shop in Summerside to do more than support his passion for collecting. He added that he hopes his store can help build the small business community in the area.

"I think every good town needs a good downtown core," Carruthers said. "I think you're going to see some growth in Summerside and I hope other people see us believing in Summerside and come out here and do the same."

Passion for treasure hunting

Carruthers said he and his partner spend a lot of time researching vintage clothing online and travelling out of province to find authentic clothing and accessories.

"I love to treasure hunt," he said. "We get to travel and hunt for stuff as a job, what could be better than that?"

Carruthers' partner, Samantha Stavert, said they have always shared a passion for thrift shopping. They travelled to Toronto for their last anniversary and spent an entire day in thrift stores digging for merchandise for the store. They even had to purchase a new suitcase to get all the clothing back to the Island.

Carruthers said it's all worth it when he gets to share his passion with people on the Island.

"They want to go get that style, but there's no place to go," Carruthers said. "The fact that they can come in here and actually get the stuff that they're looking for, they're super excited about it."

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