The Exchange

A couple of new stores have opened up in Cresco in the last couple of weeks. The first was Fifi and Fido’s, a pet store that had a run of less than two months. Then there’s The Exchange, which has lasted longer despite being the most out of place store in Cresco.

If the Exchange were in Decorah, it would be right at home. Decorah is a haven for art gallery type places, which The Exchange is. It’s also home to those places that love hosting arts, crafts, and eclective things like masseuses, which The Exchange does. While I don’t know that Decorah has a store where people can sell their crafts, which The Exchange does, I would not be surprised if they did.

Maybe that’s the secret to The Exchange’s success. It wouldn’t be out of place in Decorah at all. It might, in fact, be hard-pressed to stand out from the crowd. But in Cresco it’s a beacon of art, culture and making your own way.

Part of this is due to the proprietor, Christine. She’s a former IT manager from Reno who grew up in Cresco, went to college, moved far away, and then came back. Chalk it up to a life-changing experience. I’d like to honor her privacy and not say exactly what it was. But she wanted to live out her dream, so she started making pottery. She’s got a potter’s wheel, a kiln, and she displays her work in the showroom floor.

It’s not just her work, either. She displays arts and crafts from several people, and this can be anything from photographs to homemade laundry detergent—which smells great, by the way.  Artists and craftspeople from all around Cresco are bringing their wares out to display to the public, and never mind that the number of artists seems to be in the single digits. I think art is kind of like a virus—a small sample gets into the system, takes root, and little by little starts to expand its influence. Only instead of killing what it comes in contact with, it inspires people to take up brushes, cameras, needles and thread or whatever medium they can think of and use it to create something uniquely theirs.

Then there are the activities. A masseuse operates out of the second floor. In the evening, hip-hop dancing classes are held, Pilates classes are offered, and at this point God only knows what else. The sky seems to be the limit with this place.

A large part of this has to deal with Christine herself. At the risk of offending the people I know who grew up somewhere, went to college and then came back, I cannot understand why anyone would do that, particularly if you didn’t grow up in a city, like Chicago or New York. Even a smaller city like Rochester or Grand Rapids I could understand. But growing up in a small town, seeing the wider world, and then coming back to the same small town? I don’t understand. Christine has done this, though, and she does love the town, even as she strives to bring some culture into the area. And if you were to speak to her, she is so determined, so optimistic and so passionate about it that I would bet on her succeeding. I want this to work for her, because when I talked with her she was so happy about what she was doing it was almost infectious. I could feel myself want to start making pottery and trying to sell it, a desire that has previously eluded me.

I’ll end this blog with a plug to go visit The Exchange’s Facebook page.  If you’re in the area, I can’t recommend it enough. http://www.facebook.com/TheExchangeCresco?ref=ts&fref=ts