Besides thrifty bargains and a curated retail selection, Trinkets & Treasures offers a glimpse into Fall City community life.

During an early afternoon visit on Thursday, April 23, the tight Fall City store was packed with shoppers, while manager Marissa Chappelle dutifully manned the register. As soon as the owner Kelly Sanchez walked through the door, she was put straight to work helping customers haul a coffee table out to their car in the misty rain.

“I think Fall City is working collaboratively and working together now that there’s more retail,” Sanchez stated amid a sea of vintage clothes. “We’ve had a lot more cohesiveness with the business owners.”

The store first opened as a part of the Fall City Flea Market, and moved an approximate four-minute walk to its current location on the corner of Southeast Redmond-Fall City Road and 335th Place S.E. in July, 2013.

“We just had no space,” she said. “We stayed there for a little while, it got some traction and got going and then I pulled out.”

Sanchez said she worked as a professional photographer for 30 years before deciding to clear out the clutter in her home and start selling the items she had accumulated. Eventually, it grew into a “community business,” and she now sources from more than 200 consignors, estate sales and donations.

From furniture to photographs, Sanchez said her favorite pieces to stock in the store are art.

“We’re all artists that work here, so it’s always fun to see all the art that comes through,” she mused. “We sell a lot of it.”

Art aside, Sanchez’s other favorite facet of retail is arguably community engagement. Opening a store’s vintage-clad arms to other opportunities can lead to great things, and Trinkets & Treasures is reaping the benefits.

“We have some artists and authors that I know and any time we get a group of people together we will have a reading or children’s story time,” she explained. “We’re open to doing it any time someone wants us to do it.”

Sanchez also wants to branch into opening her store for crafting, but, for now, she’s engaging the community in a different way: By delving into the Snoqualmie River clique. She said more than 26,000 “floaters” visited the river last year and she stocked sunscreen, flip flops and sunglasses all season for the town’s summer guests.

“Everyone seems to stop here to get information,” she continued. “If you want to know anything, stop in at Trinkets & Treasures and find out what’s going on.”