By Ellen Spitaleri
Jana Fulop has always been a lover of words and stories, so when it was time to come up with a name for her first stand-alone vintage furniture store, she chose Storied Vintage. “All these pieces tell stories,” she said, adding that a small imperfection on a beautiful piece of furniture causes her active imagination to wonder how the scratch or tiny dent got there.
Storied Vintage is Fulop’s first brick-and-mortar store; she had a shop as part of the Brooklyn Mall for three years, but when that mall downsized, she began looking for a new site for her business.
Once she saw the spacious building in the heart of the Montavilla neighborhood, she knew it was the perfect spot and the shop opened in August 2024. On a sunny day, light streams in, illuminating the mellow wood vintage furniture while ceramic pieces gleam on bookshelves and comfy upholstered chairs and sofas invite visitors to sit and admire the surroundings.
Fulop said she loves the neighborhood, with its Main Street feel, adding that there is something of interest to everyone, including other vintage shops, cafés and restaurants. “There’s the farmers market on Sundays; things are walkable, safe and family friendly,” she added.
One of the first things potential customers need to realize is that there is a difference between thrifting and buying vintage; it doesn’t make sense to Fulop for people to buy a used piece in a thrift store that is only good for a couple of years and then ends up in a landfill.
The furniture that she carries is all excellent quality and was originally built to last; many of her furniture pieces are around 100 years old in prime condition and will appreciate in value over time. “When you get tired of it, you can sell it and get a majority of your money back, if not more,” Fulop noted.
She added that often when customers walk in, “they assume that because the building is gorgeous that everything will be very expensive, but it’s not.” She aims to keep prices reasonable, she said, because “people should be able to furnish their homes.”
Fulop said her merchandise appeals to a wide range of customers. Furniture styles range from antiques to mid-century modern to art deco, and she loves it when people realize you can blend styles harmoniously.
Although Storied Vintage is a furniture store, Fulop also stocks plenty of home décor items at every price point.
One of her favorite vendors is 10,000 Villages, a company that develops partnerships with artisans in under-resourced communities and helps them earn income by bringing their handcrafted products and powerful stories to global markets. “I like their mission; the company is a women-owned business, and items are sustainably sourced,” Fulop said.
Many of the company’s pieces at Storied Vintage are made from recycled saris, including hot pads, blankets, rugs and pillows, and there are even wire baskets wrapped with recycled saris. Other popular items from 10,000 Villages are small wooden games, including travel-sized table-top bowling, tic-tac-toe and dice.
Fulop also stocks soft wool blankets from Sackcloth and Ashes, based in Salem. The founder of the company started the business when his mother was homeless and living on the street. He called homeless shelters to find out what they most needed and the answer was blankets. That is why whenever a customer purchases a Sackcloth and Ashes blanket, one is donated to a local homeless shelter.
These are no ordinary blankets, Fulop noted, but are woven from the softest of Italian wools in gorgeous designs. The process begins in Prato, Italy, where the fibers are sustainably sourced from discarded clothes, which are then broken down into fibers and spun into new yarn.
Another thing that Fulop wants customers to understand is why the shop is closed on Saturdays. As a Seventh Day Adventist, Saturday is her Sabbath, which she has chosen to honor. Sundays, however, are the shop’s biggest day, mostly because of the nearby farmers market.
Fulop foresees more people pouring into the Montavilla area as new houses are going up nearby, which will be good for business. She added, “It’s a destination; you can get whatever you need.”
Storied Vintage
7850 SE Stark St.
971.488.0872
Open 11 am-6 pm Tuesday-Friday and Sunday
instagram.com/storiedvintage.pdx
Jana Fulop, owner of Storied Vintage in Montavilla, loves to combine colorful pottery pieces with live plants and vintage wood furniture to form a welcoming environment in the shop. Photo by John Richard Trtek.
