The treasure hunt is on at Fishtoes on Hanover Street, the cool new place for vintage stuff

MANCHESTER, NH – When you enter Fishtoes for the first time you will be magnetically drawn into the epicenter of nostalgia – timeless fashion, Wishniks, vests crocheted like grandma used to make. You’ll see retro jackets, flashback T-shirts, old school handbags, bangles, fur jackets and even a velvet framed jaguar.

Operated by Earl and Lara Parson, the shop opened for business February 1 and is so far getting rave reviews from bargain hunters and fashionistas alike. What sets Fishtoes apart from other retail thrift shops is the curation – you can thank Lara Parson for that. Her passion for vintage anything was more like a calling, and she became a collector – although she almost sold off her treasure trove to follow her heart from Georgia to New Hampshire, but husband Earl –  a 2010 Central High School grad, told her to box it up and they’d bring it along.

As though they somehow knew that it would be the key to their next big life adventure.

“It all naturally just came together, like, wait a second – my background with branding and the vintage collection, and a hole that needed to be filled here,” Lara said, of the need for more retail shopping in the downtown. She explains she had experience helping her parents operate small businesses in her younger days, and so the idea of opening a vintage shop, when it came to them, seemed like fate.

They hatched a business plan and found a perfect location in the middle of Hanover Street’s “theatre district,” a city block currently in the midst of revival with newly renovated apartments above them, and a restaurant about to open next door. There has also been a recent refresh of the other retail spaces on the block, including another clothing store, Peridot, and Taste and Art of Greece, along with more established restaurants, a salon, and Muse Paint Bar.

Although they were ready to open shop months ago, there were some construction delays with the space they were interested in.

“It took another six months for everything to work out to get to be here, but it’s completely worth the wait, being in the theater district,” Lara said. “We’re so excited to be part of the community.”

Since arriving in New Hampshire the Parsons have felt the pull of serendipity – one person has led them to another, a delay for the original space they picked led to property manager Red Oak offering them a bigger space at the same price, says Lara. “Big shout out to Red Oak for that.”

Lara says her love of vintage goes back to her childhood, visiting her grandparents home was like walking back in time. “There was something so nostalgic and touching about their home. I don’t even think I understood why I felt that way but it’s something about the craftsmanship. Everything was made with intention, thought and care.”

The shop provides the opposite of what is known today as “fast fashion,” items mass produced and sold on the cheap from materials that aren’t meant to last, but are often discarded in deference to the next trendy item. Lara and Earl source items with a lot of research and strategy, like finding other vintage shops letting go of their collections so that she can find good quality items at a good price. And one connection in the vintage circuit leads to another.

As for the shop’s unique name, Lara says she was wracking her brain for weeks for inspiration, throwing ideas around with friends and family while trying to jog the marketing side of her brain, but nothing was ringing the bell for her.

“I finally broke down and looked at Earl and was like, ‘I need your help with this, and he said, ‘you’re the expert. If you leave it up to me I’ll end up calling it something like fish toes. And that was it,” Lara says. “That’s his kind of humor – he’s dry and he’s witty and he’s got his own authentic personality, which is part of why I love him so much,” she said, spoken like the newlywed she is.

Although they’ve been together for about 2 1/2 years, they only tied the knot in December.

“It was like bada-bing, bada boom. He popped the question and the very next day they told us the space was finally ready for us,” Lara says.

Their whirlwind romance and entry into the world of vintage shop owners all feels like the fateful journey it’s turning out to be.

“We’re ready to put down roots and create a feeling of actual home. To be with someone I consider ‘home’ and to create something like this and to be part of this community, all that we both have had to go through in our lives to get to here – we’re such a good team and I feel like the sky’s the limit.”

Winter hours are Tue.-Sun., 12-9 p.m. Learn more or shop online at fishtoes.com