Robbinsdale Businesses See Vintage Trend As Holidays Evoke Nostalgia
This time of year, Robbinsdale’s small-town feel is heightened by Christmas spirit. From the festive storefront windows to decorations strung on light poles. Some say it’s like walking in a winter wonderland of old.
“What it is is reminiscent of West Broadway in Minneapolis when I was younger,” said Robbinsdale resident Mark Hill.
During the holiday season, the decorations, music and food can all create feelings of nostalgia. The Oxford Dictionary defines nostalgia as a sentimental longing or wistful affection of the past.
Christa Kalk, owner of Minnesota Makers in Robbinsdale, was eager to recreate that vintage, holiday magic from a time before.
“I noticed that other people were decorating a little earlier this year and I thought, ‘I can’t wait I got to get board with on that too,'” Kalk said.
Minnesota Makers is one of the shops in Robbinsdale’s downtown retail scene.
It’s not just the decorations that can stir up nostalgia. Robbinsdale retailers are also offering goods that transport people back.
“As they move through the store, we like to watch them and they start smiling and then they talk amongst themselves and they start pointing, and they start laughing and they say, ‘Oh look that’s what Grandma Jones used to have, mom use to bring that out every Christmas,’ and ‘Look there’s Aunt Mary’s special dishes,'” said Celeste Shahidi owner of Finds on Broadway.
Betsy Ruppert-Kan, owner of Fly Vintage and Vinyl, says the nostalgia of Christmas music is also something people seek out this time of year.
“It reminds them of being together with their family, they would put the record on or the CD, depending on how old they are, and they would play it over and over and it reminds them of opening gifts, or sitting down for a meal and being together,” said Ruppert-Kan.
From the storefronts to the merchandise, Robbinsdale is a place that’s filled with reminiscing.
Said Shahidi, “Basically, what we are doing here is we specialize in memories.”
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