Bridge Island Arts and Vintage opens in Camas

Bryce and Shelley Caldwell are no strangers to the art of retailing. The siblings, who recently opened their Bridge Island Arts and Vintage shop in southeast Camas, grew up in Indiana watching their mother, Linda Caldwell, run the country gift shop she operated for two decades.

“She dabbled in antiques so we went to a lot of garage sales,” Bryce said.

Some of those antiques and vintage finds made their way to Southwest Washington when the entire Caldwell family — including parents Linda and Ron — moved to Clark County. Shelley Caldwell moved to Camas, where she lives with her wife, Lynne Caldwell, and their 10-year-old son Theo, in 2005, and Bryce relocated to Vancouver last year.

In January, the siblings decided to continue in their mother’s footsteps and run their own unique retail shop. They took over the lease at 1902 S.E. Sixth St., in a historic building that has housed everything from a neighborhood grocery store to a music shop to, most recently, another vintage store known as the Rustic Monkey.

The Caldwell siblings saw the building’s potential to accommodate not only Shelley’s bespoke embroidery business but also a mix of vintage, antique and artistic wares that would draw a wide variety of customers.

““The items at Bridge Island Arts and Vintage tell many stories,” Bryce said. “There are so many interesting items. From upcycled art, goth glam, ’50s atomic and cottage core to pop culture art and contemporary jewelry, there’s a lot going on in this shop. It’s fun to be able to actually shop in person for cool stuff, rather than online. We have so many different folks contributing to the store, each day brings in new treasures.”

Bridge Island offers a place for vendors of vintage and upcycled wares to sell their treasures and for regional artists to showcase their work.

Located in a mostly residential southeast Camas neighborhood — just a few blocks away from the Camas Community Center — that has plenty of on-street parking, Bridge Island also offers a convenient stop for shoppers seeking distinctive gifts they can’t find anywhere else.

Though the store had been a vintage shop right before the Caldwells took over the lease, Shelley and Bryce have started fresh with their assortment of vendors, consignors and artists.

“We were looking for fun, happy, creative, bright (vendors),” Shelley said.

The result is a cheerful shop with surprises around every corner, including several intricately designed “ladies” — woman-shaped forms crafted from a blend of vintage jewelry, wire and mixed-media images — created by Woodland artist Julie Rochelle-Stephens; watercolors by artist and vintage vendor Ken Robb; lovingly restored furniture, fans and vintage lamps by Mike Wilson; a room Shelley describes as “goth glam” and “witchy” filled with jewelry and other items created by Rose Jubb, owner of HyperPocus, a company dedicated to “making life more magical”; and a variety of vintage vendors.

Brandy Livingston is one of the shop’s new vendors. On a recent Monday morning, Livingston was carefully arranging her booth’s assortment of upcycled, vintage-inspired wares — fun aprons crafted out of used jeans and bright fabric scraps; repurposed quilts that were beyond saving; and even handcrafted quilts created by her mother, Judy Miles.

Livingston is a huge fan of upcycling. Even as a child, she preferred sifting through used clothes instead of buying something new.

“She has a really good eye,” Shelley said of Livingston, who was one of the first vendors to sign on with Bridge Island.

Bryce, too, is honing his eye for finding quality antique and vintage treasures for the Caldwell siblings’ new store. While Shelley focuses on running Bridge Island’s business side — and on her own embroidery business — Bryce is in charge of heading out on the weekends to estate sales around the region to score more unique wares.

The siblings officially opened their new shop in early June, but have been working out the kinks before hosting a grand opening Thursday, Aug. 3. The Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce will oversee the shop’s ribbon-cutting at 4 p.m. that day, there will be a 10% discount offered storewide, and the Caldwells will host a Jello salad competition — a nod to the siblings’ Midwestern roots — from 4 to 5:30 p.m. with prizes (including embroidered aprons) for the jiggly salads deemed by the Caldwells’ parents as being “most artistic,” “most meat foods,” “most mid-century” and “most effort.”

The shop will also have a “make your own Jello salad” bar available for shoppers who want to get in on the mid-century dessert fun during the grand opening event. Shelley and Bryce said they hope to make the Jello salad competition an annual event and will name the occasion “Doris Day” in honor of their grandmothers, both of whom were named Doris.

Bridge Island Arts and Vintage is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The shop is located at 1902 S.E. Sixth Ave., Camas. For more information, email info@bridgeisland.com, or visit bridgeisland.com.