Some thrift shops have stacks upon stacks of furniture, tchotchkes and stoneware. That’s not the kind of environment Morgan Miller wanted to provide at Rewind Decor, the shop he opened in 2016. Miller wanted to create an experience that mimicked the feeling of an art gallery without the pretension. After all, that’s where he spent much of his career before becoming a shop owner: Miller ran art galleries all over the world for 15 years.
“Back in 2002-03, someone came in the gallery and said, ‘It must be hard to be in this business; art isn’t a necessity,’ ” Miller recalls, but he argues the opposite. “Go back to [our] primitive experiences as a species, even cavemen had art on the wall. Art is such a form of communication and expression — we need that. I wanted to create something where you’re walking into someone’s badass house and you could take anything home.”
On any given day (during shop hours of course) you could walk into Rewind Decor and play a round of Super Mario Bros on a Nintendo NES, or sit back in a ’60s tulip chair and listen to some classic vinyl. (That is, as long as those items don’t sell first.) Miller encourages visitors to linger. Although making sales is a necessity for any shop, he wants people to feel welcome in his curated retro living space.
Even with a background in art galleries, Miller understands that they sometimes aren’t welcoming places. He wants his shop to feel more accessible. Even if someone has a small budget, there are entry points for any customer who walks through his door.
Miller enjoys uniting customers with their first art purchase, especially if they weren’t sure they could connect with anything.
“In Wisconsin, people are a little wary of people selling these things, but I just get really excited about them,” he says. “If I’m asking questions, it’s not to sell things, it’s … so I can individualize that experience you’ll have in the store. I won’t spend time showing you 18th century Russian literature if that’s not your interest, but I have ’80s design stuff over here that you’re into.”
He has always wanted Rewind Decor to be a place for community building. Take customers Randy and Colleen, for example. Miller is quite proud they voted Rewind Decor their “Best Date Night” spot.
“They’d go to the boutique restaurants on Willy Street in 2016-17 and they’d stop by [Rewind] after dinner to play board games,” Miller says. “I’d offer them a drink and we’d put a record on. That optimizes what I’d always hoped for — a gathering place.”
Rewind Decor gallery
Morgan Miller_Rewind Decor
Morgan Miller, owner of Rewind Decor
- Photo by Christian Grover
Rewind Decor thrifting 2
- Photo by Christian Grover
Rewind Decor thrifting 3
- Photo by Christian Grover
Rewind Decor thrifting 4
- Photo by Christian Grover
Rewind Decor, 1336 Williamson St.
Amanda Finn is a guest writer to Madison Magazine.
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