The Ephemera vintage store that opened mid-August in the upstairs corner of The Fort and overlooks Idypark stems from passion, a vision and a bit of travel in between. Its owners, Samuel Markus and Jennifer Thorington, have been dreaming of opening their own vintage store for half a decade. They’ve finally made it a reality.
Clothes, typewriters, records, Snoopy and Garfield toys, and so much more is methodically fit into the cozy retail space and comes from New York, Northern California, Santa Fe, and everywhere in between.
Thorington and Markus travel about once a month on adventures to find new “old” items that would fit well in Ephemera. Local artists’ work is also displayed and the store works with more than 15 consigners. The Spruce Moose also made a signature candle — a tobacco-bourbon-vanilla scent that is a pretty shade of purple — that is only sold at Ephemera.
On top of owning Ephemera, Markus said, “We do a lot of film and production work, have an album we are hoping to record and release next year from our band ‘The Morning Birds’ and we homeschool our son, Isaiah, who’s nine years old.”
With Jim Croce’s “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” playing in the background, Thorington said, “Sam and I really enjoy traveling all over the world collecting vintage on the regular … When you’re passionate about something in life, you’re able to figure it out and it works. We’ve been successful here at this location — much more than we thought.”
Locals and Idyllwild Arts students receive a 15% discount. Eventually, the owners plan to have a table with 50% off items to help cycle items out as new ones come in. Be sure to stop in and check out Ephemera. For those of you that are wondering: Ephemera, according to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, means objects, often printed, that are not intended to last but are sometimes kept by collectors.
