50+ Lifestyles

Visit “Eclectic” in the Hilltop Campus Village

By Allison Sackfield
Eclectic

A lot of people ask me, what does “Eclectic” mean? It is defined as being “composed of elements drawn from various sources.” Well, our store is exactly that, a mixture of both vintage and contemporary items, as well as collectible items and items that have been saved from the trash. Sometimes it’s the joy of the hunt that makes our job exciting, or fixing a hinge on a cabinet that was destined for the trash. We’ve brought many different ideas and things together and displayed them to create a fresh and retro look that we hope you can envision in your own home.

My name is Allisson Sackfield, and myself and my business partner, Wendi Laake, both grew up in the Quad-Cities. We met while working together at Rock Island Auction Company. We have both always had affinity for finding and keeping around old and unusual objects. We both also like to sew and paint, amongst other things of a crafty nature. Together, we dreamed up having a boutique like store to showcase our style, so this November we decided to make it happen.

We decided to set up shop in the Hilltop Campus Village in Davenport, which we have seen as a newly growing and dynamic area set between both St. Ambrose University and Palmer Chiropractic College. We like that there is a lot of foot traffic through the neighborhood, and that Harrison Street has a lot of traffic, as well, to help give us exposure. The historic quality of the neighborhood is also important to the ambiance and character of our store. Setting up a retro store in a strip mall just seemed contradictory to us. The Hilltop Business Association has been so supportive and helpful in seeing us grow even in the short time we have been open.

Where does all of our stuff come from? Well, aside from stockpiling cool stuff over the years, many of our items are purchased at auctions or thrift/yard sales. We then, in some cases, fix items up with a new knob or a fresh coat of paint. We like to buy our items cheap so that we can charge lower prices; we want people to come and feel like they can afford most anything in our shop. It also makes us happy to recycle and repurpose items, saving them from ending up in a landfill somewhere. If we like it, we buy it…upon finding an item to put in the shop, I sometimes ask myself, would I buy this? If the answer is yes, then a new item has arrived at Eclectic.

Eclectic is located at 1517 Harrison Street in Davenport, Iowa. Business hours are 11 a.m. to
6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There is parking in either of the Hilltop bar parking lots.