Retail store, Birdsong, opens in Elkhart

Authentically staged vintage kitchenware and treasures

[June 16, 2009]  ELKHART -- The village of Elkhart has some very nice shops downtown, the newest of which is Birdsong, owned and operated by Jean Tweet.

Birdsong offers a wide variety of vintage 1930s, '40s and '50s housewares, kitchenware, glass and dishes, along with lovely vintage aprons reasonably priced, and a wide variety of old but nicely preserved books.

Tweet, who also has a booth at the Williamsville Antique Mall, said that she's had the Elkhart store open only three weeks.

Claiming to be a thrift store shopper since her teenage years, she has an eye for what is vintage, and collectible, but says in all honesty her main focus is the books.

Tweet says that her parents loved books and always had a lot of them, and so she developed a love for them as well. She says that her offerings in the store are grounded in history, although if you look around, you'll find a copy of the "Little House on the Prairie Cookbook" and other equally interesting items.

Tweet says that for the local shoppers, just stepping in the door brings back fond memories of days past.

Back in the day, the corner building on the north side of Main Street was Nellie's Cafe.

The cafe featured an old-fashioned soda foundation, and even now the mirror-backed hardwood and marble fountain counter is still in its rightful place at the front of the store. Tweet has also made sure to preserve the two remaining original wood booths where area teenagers may have sipped on sodas after school, and be sure to look up and admire the lovely pressed-tin ceiling.

Tweet says that for now, she is only going to have the store open Thursday through Saturday from 11 to 4.

If you're interested in vintage aprons, old recipe boxes, lovely vintage dinnerware or glassware, enamelware, kitchenware, or are looking for an older publication with historical significance, don't forget to stop in and see all that Birdsong has to offer.

[By NILA SMITH]