Tucked into a storefront at the top of Main Street in Vineyard Haven is Found It, an unassuming shop full of vintage knickknacks and beautiful collectibles. Owner Rosemary Gambino opened the store in April after many years of collecting interesting vintage objects. Ms. Gambino decided to open the store at the suggestion of her son, who owns La Choza burritos next door.
“Collecting was a hobby, but I always wanted to do this,” Ms. Gambino said. “My house is still full, just a lot less cluttered. I can see walls again.”
The walls in Found It resemble those of a carefully curated museum, where salt and pepper shakers are given the same respect and dignity as the finest piece of art. Over two dozen sets of tiny wooden and ceramic figurines sit in pairs along the right-hand wall of the shop. These are Ms. Gambino’s “salt and pepes,” as she calls them. Some have names, like the pair of puritanical spice holders Priscilla and John. Others are brightly colored or resemble flowers and trees. Ms. Gambino pauses at one set on the wall, a pair of ceramic birds that gently dip up and down when touched, and laughs as she taps one on the head.
Ms. Gambino’s joy at being surrounded by her collectibles is easily understood once you step into her shop. One glance in the front window is enough to see the care and effort that was put into each display. There is a section of snow globes from around the country, a table dedicated to blue perfume bottles, shelves full of colorful green Depression glass, and fine china that has been carefully catalogued in hanging file folders.
The deliberate care with which her wares are displayed is a testament to the amount of time Ms. Gambino spends cultivating her collection. Besides the tin cans and other goods she has kept since the 1960s and 1970s, she also travels around the country scouring yard sales and thrift stores for that perfect collectible. When you leave the store, you will truly feel like you have found it, even if you didn’t know you were searching for something.
