Vintage Store, Mercantile, Celebrates Grand Opening Tomorrow in Cody
Written by Caleb Nelson on August 26, 2022
The Vintage FarmVixen’s Mercantile, a new business started by resident Brandy Lasseter, is having a Grand Opening tomorrow, August 27th, 9 am-6 pm, located at 513 16th street Cody, WY.
Brandy Lasseter and Lois Brown in front of Mercantile as they prepare for the Grand Opening on Saturday
Ms. Lasseter will run Mercantile with her business partner Lois Brown, who was born and raised in Powell, WY. The two have big plans to expand and grow their vintage brand in the coming months and years. Lasseter will focus on vintage clothes and products whereas Brown’s specialty is glassware, “breakables,” and custom seamstress designs.
Ms. Lasseter originally operated under the name “The Vintage FarmGirl,” but as she explains, “I had it for eleven years. Well, when I first started out I didn’t register it [the name] or do a domain or anything like that. Now, everybody’s got ‘vintage farmgirl.'” To Ms. Lasseter’s point, a quick Facebook search of Vintage FarmGirl shows there are businesses and boutiques with similar names in places like Champaign, IL, Custer, WA, and Oconomowoc, WI.
Lasseter changed the company name last year and will now use “The Vintage FarmVixen.” “I’ve got it registered and all that stuff and then I started working with Lois last fall,” Lasseter says.
“The Merc,” as it’s called for short, is looking to be a unique experience for customers. The store will showcase antique glassware, old linens, vintage western apparel and accessories, reclaimed furniture, and much more.
“We decided that we wanted to open an old-time mercantile,” Lasseter says. Ms. Lasseter, who moved to Cody, Wyoming almost five years ago, had been living in Missouri. “I did a lot of flea markets and junk shows, that’s what I did most of the time,” Lasseter says.
This is Ms. Lasseter’s first time owning a store, “Never owned a store, it’s always been a dream,” Lasseter says. Since flea markets and junk shows are not as prominent in Cody, Lasseter says, she decided it was time to open a storefront to showcase her vintage products.
Ms. Lasseter’s vintage bracelets
In terms of the clothing for sale, “Nothing is whole sale,” Lasseter says. “We go out looking for things,” Brown adds. The store already has an impressive selection of old Wranglers, Rocky’s, Lawman’s, and Levi’s in addition to a variety of cool Western boots, jackets, bracelets, and jewelry. “I go out and I find unique stuff,” Lasseter says. The bracelets are made from old belts, “I kinda bling ’em up,” Lasseter says. People can even donate old belts to Mercantile to be repurposed as part of Lasseter’s collection.
Lasseter says she has always wanted the overall aesthetic of the store to capture the feeling of an “old-time mercantile general store.” Eventually, Vintage FarmVixen has plans to expand to a bigger building since they have plenty of inventory, some of which came from Missouri.
For the grand opening on Saturday, “the first 15 customers” to enter the store at 9 a.m. will receive gift bags with “gift certificates, some of my jewelry,” and other promotional items, Lasseter explains. Throughout the day there will be drawings for prizes—door prize drawings. There will also be a Grand Prize Raffle for a gift certificate to the store, the winner will be announced within two weeks of the Grand Opening.
