Mixed Market Thrift store offering more bargains, variety at new Oswego location

Mixed Market Thrift in Oswego can offer even more bargains now that it has moved to a bigger space.

The store opened in mid-September at its new location at 27 Stonehill Road, Unit A, in the Stonehill Business Park in Oswego after previously being in downtown Oswego. Owner Denise Weszelits, who lives in Oswego, said the bigger location will allow her to sell larger items like furniture and offer do-it-yourself classes.

The Oswego Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 6 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new location.

At 2,500 square feet, her new space is three times bigger than her previous store, which was 700 square feet. Weszelits said she will listen to her customers to find out their needs.

“We’ll be flexible with trying to get whatever it is that people do want,” she said.

Mixed Market Thrift will be doing pop up sales at its previous location at 8 W. Washington St. in downtown Oswego to help clear out any remaining items. The store’s lease on the building ends at the end of March.

The vast majority of what Weszelits sells are second-hand items. And she has strived to make Mixed Market Thrift stand apart from other thrift stores.

“We’ve basically turned the space into a thrift boutique more so than just your average thrift store where everything is just grouped into like items,” Weszelits said. “We display the items like you would in your home.”

With a bigger space, she is now able to display more items.

“There was only so much we could display at the other store,” Weszelits said.

Weszelits, a registered nurse, has enjoyed the relationships she has been able to build with her customers. She has been a resident of Oswego since 2001 after previously living in Chicago.

As the name Mixed Market Thrift implies, the store sells a variety of items, including furniture, clothing and decorative items.

“You can dress up your table setting for next to nothing,” Weszelits said. “We’re going to focus on more of the things that you want that you might not be able to afford brand new.”

That includes such items as brass candlesticks and fine china.

“You can dress up your table setting for next to nothing and not feel guilty about it,” she said.

Some of her regular customers will bring their donated items to the store.

“Or I’ll pick stuff up if it’s local, for sure,” Weszelits said.

She also has acquired items at estate sales. One of the most popular items at the new store are floor lamps.

“I cannot keep floor lamps in stock,” she said. “I’ll have them for a couple of days. There’s always a corner in your house that can use a floor lamp. You might not necessarily have room for a table in that corner, but you need a lamp.”

More information about Mixed Market Thrift is at its website, mixedmarketthrift.com or on its Facebook page.