Simple, timeless and functional. These are three words store owner Rebecca Cooke hears her customers say as they step into her shop.

Red’s Mercantile is a newly opened home goods and accessories store that is trying to get its name out there and build a bigger client base in Eau Claire.

Cooke said she had been saving up money for years before the store took off because she had always wanted to open up her own business. When she moved back home to Eau Claire after living in California, she saw the space was up for rent and thought it was the perfect time to start.

“There was so much happening in downtown at the time that I just thought it would be a great time to jump in and do something creative,” Cooke said.

Opening its doors in November 2015, Cooke said she started the store to create a place for people to get one of a kind gifts while supporting the U.S. economy.

All of the merchandise carried at Red’s Mercantile is made in the U.S. and hand crafted by vendors from all around the country.

“I think it provides a unique shopping experience,” Cooke said. “To have a store with products hand-made by craftsman was something I felt Eau Claire was missing.”

Each vendor has their own intricate history of how they got into the business and it is reflected in the ways they make their distinct and exclusive products.

The store features 30 independent makers’ products and tries to emphasis each story behind them.
“Supporting them and their stories is something I really enjoy,” Cooke said.

The social media intern for the store, Michaela Perz, is a sophomore marketing student at UW-Eau Claire who heard about the position through Instagram. Perz said her favorite part of being apart of the Red’s Mercantile team is her freedom to be inventive with her own ideas alongside of getting her work done.

“I am able to be creative, come up with ideas and suggest things while doing my job,” Perz said.

Perz currently works for the store by writing social media posts and making posters for their events.

Red’s Mercantile hosts an event each month to bring in the community and allow people to walk around and see what the store has to offer.

Their most recent event was a coffee tasting last month that included coffee from local brewers. They hope to soon start bringing in the venders themselves to show the customers where their products came from.

“I want people to have more of a perspective of what goes into creating something,” Cooke said. “Looking at these things you forget sometimes that somebody made this with their hands.”

Cooke said she hopes the store will continue to grow and create a more social media presence in the community.

Find out more about Red’s Mercantile at redsmercantile.com or follow them on Instagram @redfoxden.