The Red Wagon rolls out Encampment opening

The town of Encampment has a new business.

Alyson Sneddon opened her vendor business, known as “The Red Wagon”, on Dec. 12 in the former Aunt Martha’s This N’ That shop next to Encampment Town Hall. Since her opening she has been subleasing the space for vendors who have items to sell, much like Aspen Sky Merchants in Saratoga.

According to Sneddon, the Red Wagon can provide many separate vending areas for people who have interesting or unique products to sell. She said she runs the business during the day while the vendors leave their products there for sale.

“I’ve got plenty of room and space reserved for vendors, and we can probably take on another 15 to 25 vendors,” Sneddon said. “We’re welcome to all people who have things they want to sell, whether they’re handcrafted goods or renewed items, and I do the day-to-day operations. I know my vendor and their product, and when someone comes in and asks about something, I’m able to answer those questions. The trade-off is you pay me rent, I run the business and sell your product.”

Sneddon’s vendors include Blue Moose Creations, which makes hand-crafted soaps, and Home Grown Yarns, which provides handmade wool products. 

“With Home Grown Yarns, the woman shears her sheep, carts the wool and dyes it, and creates yarns, hats, scarves and other products,” she said. “We also have items from a local lady who makes book art by recycling old books into art.”

Other products featured at The Red Wagon include hand-blown glass products from the Fire Mountain Art Gallery in Flagstaff, Ariz., and items such as hair ribbons, tutus and fancy decorated socks from a girls’ boutique business called “Sugarplum.” Sneddon said the local organization known as Grandma’s Cabin also has a space in the building.

“Our vendors include Grandma’s Cabin, which is a non-profit organization that supports kids at Encampment School, and local artist Brandon Russell is displaying his art,” she said. “We’ll also have a vendor that sells home furnishings, recreational goods, jewelry and things like that. Another vendor is coming in that makes shelves out of knotty pine.”

Although The Red Wagon has only been open for nearly two months, Sneddon said she has seen customers come from all over the Platte Valley, and from as far away as Rawlins and Laramie.

“I’m surprised by the number of people coming in and the sales we’ve had already,” she said. “For the few vendors we have right now I think we’ve done very well for December.”

In addition to helping folks looking to browse, Sneddon said she has already sold several items including holiday and regular soaps, scarves, hats and even pieces of furniture. She said she is welcome to accepting items that people want to donate for good future use.

“People can bring items in that we can recycle and reuse, but I’m a little picky about what comes in,” Sneddon said. “We don’t want junk or stuff that’s going to be parked here for storage space. We’re a unique marketplace, not a thrift or consignment store, so we want only good clean used items.”

Sneddon said she was excited about the other benefits provided by The Red Wagon. She said she has made the business a space where people can relax and recreate.

“We have a book exchange,” Sneddon said. “People can read here, and people can come in to have coffee or tea and chat with me. The community can come and we’ll have events here, and we’ll have games in here that people can play. It’s not just a place to buy stuff.”  

Sneddon said she recently rented an office space in the building to someone starting a business, and welcomes others looking for office space, rather than a vending space, to serve as their business home.

Another added bonus for The Red Wagon includes a book exchange, where people can take a used book from the business and trade it with another one. Sneddon said people can also donate any used books they don’t want to the business.

“People are more than welcome to take a book, and any books they don’t want, they can exchange them or drop them off,” she said.

Sneddon said she plans to hire other people to help her run business in the near future. With a shortage of retail in Encampment, she said she is happy to finally have something up and running in town.

“Right now it’s just me, but I’m planning on hiring eventually,” Sneddon said. “We want to get to the point where we have people in here working. We really needed a business in Encampment. We needed retail here, and a place in town where people can come.”