Aug. 14—CHEYENNE — The owners of newly rebranded and relocated Funky Monkey Rescued Treasures thrift store are planning to go the extra mile when it comes to their local impact.
Five months ago, co-owner Lowell Harp was climbing a stepladder to trim the canopy shrouding the roof of Collectible and Thrift, the original thrift store location on Cleveland Avenue that he ran with partner Tori Wilder. The space was too small, too obscure, and when the opportunity arose to open a warehouse of antiques in May, they seized the moment.
They went from 3,500 square feet, to about 9,000 square feet on 3151 Nationway Suite A1 — and the space is quickly filling up.
"Our vision down the road is a local Goodwill on steroids," Harp said.
Right now, the warehouse is filled with a random array of items, from high-priced European furniture to chipped dining tables, sporting equipment, old movies and books, knives in a display case, lawn items and entire living room sets.
In a two-month turnaround, it's one of the biggest antique stores here. Harp and Wilder still have three storage lockers to unload from items they collected while operating a junk removal and estate cleaning service.
"I would probably say 90% of the store came out of junk jobs and estate clean-outs," Harp said. "Throughout everything in here, I don't think we spent more $1,000 on anything."
This is where the "steroids" enter the idea.
For years, Wilder operated a junk removal business, emptying out vacated home and apartments, disposing of many items. Slowly, he and Wilder began to collect anything that caught their eye until, years later, they realized they were sitting on eight storage lockers full of antiques worth reselling.
Funky Monkey will continue this junk removal service for a flat fee, something that, to their knowledge, no other nearby businesses offer. In turn for helping people clean out their homes, they get first pick from the haul.
They also accept in-store donations. (Call ahead.)
"I've wanted a nonprofit junk service for years, where people can, instead of complaining about what they're doing, you're at least making some sort of a help and an effort towards a cause," Harp said.
More in store
There's more to Funky Monkey. This place is going to be fairly unique once they're done unloading all their supplies, if things progress according to plan.
In the entryway, the owners will erect a coffee bar featuring brews from local roasters, as well as locally baked pastries and snacks for purchase. In the back, past the cash register, they're in the process of setting up a local art gallery where work will be displayed for purchase.
The same room also has tables set up to host events. It could be an arts and craft class, a meeting or lunch space, youth classes or monthly vendor flea markets and farmers markets. They say these are the type of community events the east side rarely has the opportunity to enjoy.
Their end goal is to create a one-stop location for community involvement, particularly with the elderly and special needs client bases. With three special needs children of their own, they understand the demand for such a service.
A distant goal for Wilder is to actually operate a special needs program known as a "dayhab," where special needs community members are provided activities on a daily basis. It could be a trip to the movies, an art class, a day in nature or a job working around the antique store.
The nonprofit program would be held out of a different location, funded through Funky Monkey.
"We'll start small, and if we can get the right clients, we'll just start out renting a house or renting an apartment or anywhere where somebody can be there with (clients) at any given time," Harp said. "So it might be small, but we've been approached by 27 families over the last two and a half years to try to help because all the programs in town have been so concentrated."
They also plan to host similar programs for the elderly.
Funky Monkey Rescued Treasures is open Mondays, noon-5:30 p.m.; Tuesdays, noon-5 p.m., and Wednesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Will Carpenter is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter. He can be reached by email at wcarpenter@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3135. Follow him on Twitter @will_carp_.
