BILLINGS - It's like a scene from Santa's workshop inside Marketplace 3301 in Downtown Billings as 110 vendors prep their booths for a multitude of merry shoppers.
“The atmosphere is pretty fantastic. It's fun. It’s festive, and it’s relaxing. Marketplace 3301 is the largest antique mall in Montana and Wyoming,” says Josh Ingraham, Marketplace 3301 manager.
In fact, it's so large there’s a coffee shop and seating to take a break between treasure hunting, even a library to relax and skim a book. However, if shoppers need to check those gift items off their list quickly, many call Marketplace 3301 a one-stop shop.
“Here we’ve got a mystery box. It’s got 6 items in it. The theme is oink,” said Bek Schatzke, owner and artist at The Faux Fleur booth inside Marketplace 3301.
One look at her booth and it’s apparent, Bek Schatzke has gone to great lengths to take the pressure off the gift-giving process this year.
“I have the fun mystery boxes that I curate, and you just don’t know what you’re going to get. it's just a box of fun,” says Schatzke.
It’s a surprise for everyone, just like her blind date with a book gift, which is fully wrapped, hiding the cover, and only reveals the first sentence of the book. However, each book comes with a personal recommendation as Schatzke reads everything before wrapping it, meaning with this mystery gift, the giver can’t go wrong.
“Everybody likes receiving gifts and being thought of,” says Schatzke.
If you show up to a party gifting a vintage Barbie doll or maybe a pair of skates, you’re likely to be on Santa's nice list, but head up to the Withered and Wild Apothecary booth or Stair 11 booth, and the giver and receiver may not understand at first.
“People either love it or they hate it, and there is nothing in between,” says Jennifer Ingraham, Withered and Wild Apothecary and Stair 11 booth owner and co-owner of Marketplace 3301.
In Jennifer’s booths, you’ll find anything from sassy signage to dried iguana feet and tiny taxidermy, where she freeze dries tiny animals like mice, and places them in cute little scenes with succulents. Canadian lynx tail keychains are an oddity as well as porcupine quills and turtle shells.
“It's definitely a booth that causes a reaction, but the fun thing is that people are enjoying it, even if it is a bit of morbid curiosity," says Jennifer Ingraham.
“Local businesses are the heart and soul of our community, and if we could do our very best to shop local this year,” says Josh Ingraham.
