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Lisa Zeuner wanted to share her love of vintage with the community, so she opened Elemental Vintique last June located at 205 Bellevue Avenue.
Elemental Vintique is a sustainable clothing boutique that carries vintage fashion, vinyl records, handcrafted jewelry and more.
“The concept is focusing on reusing what we already have and reducing waste in our environment, and all of the items in the store are either vintage or gently loved with a retro theme,” Zeuner said.
One cool thing about being in a vintage shop is seeing people respond to familiar items.
“They may pick something up and recall a memory of their grandfather or a memory of their childhood. That memory sparks a feeling that connects us all to their ancestors. I find joy in listening to the many ancestral stories that people bring into the shop,” Zeuner said.
When she’s not at the store, she teaches dance and performance arts at a high school in Mays Landing.
“I was also a musician for many years, so I want to continue to share my love of music with the community,” Zeuner said.
As an educator, Zeuner hopes to teach others about the importance of sustainability and protecting the environment.
“I think it’s important that we start to be more aware of our shopping choices and start to shop more sustainably and focus on reusing what we already have opposed to creating more waste,” Zeuner said.
Her fascination with vintage started when she was a young girl in the ‘70s.
“Mostly my fascination is the ‘50s through the ‘80s. I was a child of the ‘70s and the ‘80s, so it’s nostalgic for me, but I’ve always loved the styles of the ‘50s and ‘60s, so even as a young girl I collected,” Zeuner said.
Customers can find records from all genres at Elemental Vintique including ‘70s psychedelic, ‘80s pop and ‘90s hip hop.
“Everybody has different tastes, so I have a lot of different things that I collect. Back there you can pretty much find anything,” Zeuner said.
The vinyl room at the store has a record player, so people can listen to the record before purchasing.
Besides records, Elemental Vintique also sells healing botanicals that Zeuner creates with organic materials.
“They’re prayer meditation type candles that are used for intention setting as well as aromatherapy purposes,” Zeuner said.
For about eight years she’s been selling her botanical products at local markets under the name Elemental Child.
“They’re made with therapeutic essential oils and plants from my garden,” Zeuner said.
For 20 years, Zeuner has called Hammonton home, and she is a member of the Hammonton Green Committee.
“I love Hammonton. I’m part of the Hammonton Green Committee, and I do a lot of volunteer work. I organize the Green Market here on Horton Street that’s on Third Thursdays,” Zeuner said.
Another event Zeuner will be organizing are Friday night socials in the store starting in September. Different artists will be invited each month.
“I’d like to host these various socials where people can come out on a Friday night between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., meet other new people that maybe they haven’t met before and maybe also meet someone in the community who has a business or is an artist,” Zeuner said.
Zeuner said she hopes people in the community will shop more sustainably.
“I just hope that people in the community would consider their choices when they’re shopping to shop more sustainably and to support local businesses in the community,” Zeuner said.
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