June 21, 2024

A small vintage shop downtown functions like a speakeasy.

If you don’t know the code for The Small Shoppe, you won’t get into the Gourley Building at Sixth Street and Main Avenue.

Owner Jenny Putzke gives out the code to customers who contact her through the shop’s Instagram account: @thesmallshoppe.sd. The shop is in a space on the first floor in the southeast corner of the Gourley Building. Her small collection of curated goods – everything from barware and kitchen items to clothing and suitcases – is artfully displayed in a room bathed in natural light from the tall windows.

This photo and those following are by Rachael Halgerson

Putzke, a full-time nurse with a husband and kids, opens the shop for a few hours almost every Friday and Saturday afternoon.

She started the business “five, six years ago,” selling items through an Instagram account and keeping everything in her house. She stopped for a while but brought The Small Shoppe back in August 2023 and moved it into the storefront in February.

Most of her sales still come through Instagram, but having a store is an essential now, Putzke said.

“I love it because then it’s not in my house,” she joked of all the merchandise.

There are other benefits too.

“I have found that I just like chatting with people. … I have made a bunch, like a ton, of friends this way, and we share this passion for vintage and cool stuff.”

Many of those people would love to thrift themselves but say they don’t have the time or patience, she said.

Putzke has been thrifting since she was in middle school.

“I remember Goodwill on Tuesdays would come out with new stuff … so I would go and hunt around on Tuesdays. I remember getting a ton of things that day. And then, I’ve just carried that into my adult life.”

Initially, the idea was to “stretch your dollars.”

“As I’ve gotten older, it’s become more of like who I am. My whole house is vintage. … I feel like I’m trapped in an old lady’s body or old lady’s brain because that’s what I love – all that stuff.”

That passion for vintage carries into clothing as well, which she began selling after she restarted the business last year.

“My husband always thinks I look like George Costanza,” she joked of the “Seinfeld” character. “I love fun colors. I love vintage jeans, vintage denim. Coats. I’m obsessed with coats.”

She finds her merchandise at garage and estate sales and thrift stores and said she doesn’t buy anything newer than the mid-1990s. She’s picky about what she buys to resell.

“I try not to buy anything I don’t want. Like, I would wear it. I would have it. And then it really becomes more of like I love every piece then. And I get excited about taking pictures of it and selling it because I feel it’s like an extension of me.”

Her merchandise is an eclectic collection, with a little bit of this and that. And there are many “loves” when it comes to what she likes to buy and resell.

“I love wood. I love natural. I love anything ceramic, handmade. If it’s vintage and handmade, I die. That’s my absolute favorite. Kitchen stuff. I love real simple, clean lines. I like soft colors. I like pops of color here and there. I love rugs. If I could, I would be just a straight vintage rug reseller. … I love floral and vases. I’m big on vases. If I could, I would love to have more furniture pieces. I just don’t have a lot of space. I like industrial-type stuff. Just a lot of simple. I love barware. That’s the other thing I love.”

Eventually, neighboring Fresh Produce likely will expand into The Small Shoppe space, Putzke said, so she’s on a month-by-month lease. She hopes to stay there through summer if not longer.

Editor’s note: The location of the building has been corrected since the article was first published.