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Conveniently located on U.S. 6 in Morris, just a short drive away from Interstate 80 and Route 47, True North has blossomed in popularity and notoriety since it first opened its doors in 2014. After quickly outgrowing its original storefront in historic downtown Morris, True North moved to the 6,000 square foot "warehouse" building it now calls home. With a growing cavalcade of fans, seven consecutive "Best Antique Shop In Grundy County" awards and write-ups from some of the most prestigious vintage and antiquing magazines out there, True North has completed another massive expansion, their biggest to date. Sure to please fans old and new alike, this addition will add 4,000 more square feet to the warehouse, giving some of True North's 100-plus vendors the opportunity to create truly unique micro-shops throughout the store. "The whole idea at True North is that the entire family can come here, relax, see something cool ... just have a unique experience and still feel no pressure to buy anything. There's really something for everybody to do, for all ages," said Stacey Olson, the owner and visionary behind True North.
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The crowning jewel of this massive new expansion are the 30 booths in the back of the store, all of which feature generous window space for easy browsing. These windowed vendor rooms create a more open concept feeling than your traditional antique store vendor rooms, while still allowing each space to have it's own unique theme and styling. "With this expansion, we're hoping to bring window shopping to a whole new audience," said Olson. "Since the experience of going to a mall isn't what it once was, and people are incredibly passionate about vintage, True North is now a place where you can go and visit all these exciting types of vintage and artisan stores under one roof!"
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Many of True North's "Midwest Makers," regional creators from Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Missouri that sell an assortment of popular handmade goods, now have dedicated spaces in the expansion with elaborate window spaces to display their goods. You'll find some of True North's popular vintage vendors in these booths, showing off curated selections of some of their best items. "We can't wait to see what our vendors do with the window spaces come Christmas-time," said Olson. "Our Midwest Makers used to be located in the front of the store, that space is now dedicated to 70-plus vintage vendors. All together, we now have more than 100 vendors throughout True North."
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True North specializes in what are a called smalls, a term you may have picked up if you're fan of History Channel's American Pickers. This sub-category of vintage pieces favor the eclectic and compact over the large and sober pieces many think of when they first hear to word "antiques." These inexpensive, highly-collectable, conversation pieces are rapidly becoming the hottest things in the world of vintage, and they just so happen to be True North's forte. "We don't have huge 12 x 12 booths filled with tables, we have small booths filled with tons of exciting smalls. Our customers love that, on any given day we're selling hundreds of items," said Olson. "It comes a surprise to a lot of people, but the average cost of an item at True North is just $5."
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True North also plays host to many exciting events throughout the year, from seasonal shopping parties to the upscale Scout Flea Market they host in their parking lot (facebook.com/ScoutFleaMarket). During these special occasions, the store can get even busier than usual, and the expansion is helping to make your checkout process during these days days even simpler. In addition to the vintage conveyor belt checkout lanes in the front of the store, another quirky amenity you won't find anywhere else, True North has now added a third register in the back of the shop to simplify the checkout process on these busy event days and busy weekend.
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If you're a fan of vintage clothing, you should start planning your trip ASAP. True North has always been known for their old school apparel, but they now feature a staggering 1,000-plus square feet of recycled clothing. The selection of clothes has also grown to include vintage children's clothing, so the style and philosophy of upcycling can now extend to your children's wardrobe. "Not only do we have cool jean jackets, patches and pins, flannels and recycled T-shirts, we also have recycled kids clothes. We know that parents don't want to spend a ton of clothes for quickly growing kids, so why not wear something that's gently worn in like-new condition," said Olson.
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True North knows big shopping trips with kids can be challenging, especially when you're planning on spending an hour or two in a sprawling shop like theirs. To keep the little ones entertained, True North has added a "Little Movie Theater" complete with vintage seats. This mini-cinema always has age-appropriate films playing for kids, giving you some much needed time to explore the store. Did we mention that True North also houses an arcade? They've doubled the size of their existing arcade area, adding classic games like Centipede, Galaga and Asteroids, sure to appeal to kids and kids at heart. "Our average customer used to be in here for an hour. We're now seeing that the average time spent in True North is about an hour and half or two hours. It's the type of place where people can just sit down and have some fun," said Olson.
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The new addition also includes a fotomat-inspired stand, where guests walk through and browse a selection of vintage cameras, pictures and other photography related memorabilia. Stacey Olson sees these themed attractions as a natural continuation of the selfie stations they added to True North in 2019. "We're adding even more selfie opportunities throughout the store. There's a state park themed area, a vintage record shop, an old barn with a tin roof and even 50's jewelry shop. It's all very photo-friendly," said Olson.
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While this massive expansion is ushering in all sorts of new amenties, the core of True North remains the same. Everything in the store promotes the culture of recycling and upcycling forgotten treasures, the pillars that have made the store and it's amazing selection of vintage merchandise so popular in the first place. "We still have more than 60 booths of vintage and antiques, the stuff that True North is really known for, and the stuff that they love. We've just expanded and increased everything," said Olson.
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