by Dennis Dalman
A new shop in Sartell called the “Pick-It Fence” specializes in objects that are “rusted, reloved or recreated.”
Owned by Mary Williamson of Sartell and Maria Legatt, originally of Sartell and now a St. Cloud resident, the Pick-It Fence’s grand opening took place Sunday, May 1. It is located in the Riverside Plaza, 101 Seventh St. N. Suite 2.
Rusted? Re-loved? Recreated?
They sound like incongruous words – that is, until Williamson explains them.
Rusted means an old object, often dented, that seems to be quite useless until its uniqueness and, yes, even beauty is reawakened by someone who sees its value.
Re-loved means an old object that reveals its value and beauty to the eye of the beholder, often because of a nostalgic feeling that recaptures a time long gone.
Recreated means old objects that require work to put them back together so they can be used and enjoyed once again.
In other words, Williamson, Legatt and the other eight vendors in the Pick-It Fence all cherish old objects, which many people would cast off as junk. All of the vendors delight in helping people see the beauty in so-called junk. Their shop is filled with such objects that virtually sing of the past: old vinyl record albums, an old ornate dresser repainted in striking gray with white details, a black-and-white checkerboard café table, a basket of fruit transformed into a lamp, an old wrought-iron bed, very old dolls, glassware and ceramics, farm equipment and tools, rustic items and “shabby chic,” a name for repurposed objects given new life.
Inside the Pick-It Fence, there are separate spaces, each about a 5-foot-by-2-foot area, for each of the 10 vendors who bring and sell their items there in those rented spaces.
“We love giving local people a chance to show off their creative sides,” Williamson said. “Vendors are either artists or sometimes they’re grandparents who want to bring their grandkids to garage sales to teach them about the past. Some vendors are getting close to retirement age and so they want to get into redecorating, which they had a knack for but never had the chance to do.”
People who go looking for old objects, like Legatt and Williamson, are dubbed “pickers.” That is why their shop is a pun on “pick” and picket fence, a white picket fence being often a nostalgic image of long-ago neighborhoods.
The two women and the other vendors do their “picking” at garage sales but also at auctions, flea markets, estate sales, thrift stores and online places.
“We buy the things we love,” Williamson said, “and it’s so nice to see others enjoy them too. Many of the items we sell are far better made than objects made today. These objects are high quality – the genuine article.”
Williamson’s mother, a “picker,” would bring her to many garage sales when she was a child. Later, Williamson, the daughter, began buying old jewelry boxes she would sand down and then decoupage. Eventually, Williamson became a vendor in the Salvage Sisters shop in Waite Park, and that is where she met Maria Legatt and Maria’s mother, Mary Justin, a vendor at Salvage Sisters.
“I thought right away Maria has a free spirit and a good eye for picking,” Williamson said. “I thought it would be good to open a business with her.”
Eventually, Williamson told Legatt she’d found the “perfect” location, a store in Sartell’s Riverside Plaza, close to the schools, the site of a farmers’ market and highly visible to pedestrians and motorists.
Plans for the store rapidly progressed, culminating in its grand opening May 1.
“Our store is constantly new and changing, day to day,” Williamson said. “Many people come in with an item on their wish list, something they’ve always wanted and are looking for. We will help them find it if we don’t have it. We keep an eye out for the things people want. We also buy some items people bring in, though we don’t accept objects for consignment sales, at least not yet.”
There is currently a waiting list for vendors at Pick-It Fence. There are similar shops in just about every city in the greater St. Cloud area, which is a testament to so many people reclaiming and valuing their pasts.
“Seeing the beauty in something that has been lost or thrown away,” Williamson said. “That is what we love to do.”