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All Gussied Up opens on the North Hill

November 15, 2013
All Gussied Up owner Brenda Toline, left, and two of several artisans who provide the unique and beautiful furnishings and decor, Shawna Hittle and Angela Hittle.
A new store opened at the top of the North Hill last Friday, and it's not quite like any you've ever seen. As you enter, "worker bee" Ken "Doc" Toline is on the floor, putting a new finish on a beautiful old chest.

His wife, owner Brenda Toline, greets you in old blue jeans daubed with multi-color paints and stains.

All Gussied Up, 32 David Thompson Drive, isn't just a showcase for heirloom home furnishings and home decor, it's a place where beautiful old quality pieces are restored to like new glory.

Breda said she's dreamed of opening a shop like All Gussied Up since leaving the field of nursing after 16 years and went to work in retail in Sandpoint. In fact, she'd been eyeing the building All Gussied Up now sits in for the last three years.

"I've always wanted a business like this," she said, "especially after working in a store in Sandpoint. Seeing all those 'Made in China" tags. It gave me a different perspective."

What you'll find at All Gussied Up is up-cycled furniture, all of it made in the United States and most of it that spent it's earlier life right here in Boundary County. There quilts, bags and wreaths hand-made locally, unique and timeless home decor.

Something else unique about All Gussied Up is that though Ken and Brenda own the business, the talent that goes into every item is actually a consortium; eight very talented local artisans; Shawn Hitlle, Angela Hittle, Connie Purinton, Jodie Hubbard, Kelly Hinthorn, Stacey Mastre and Laurie Schoening, each of whom brings a set of skills that mesh seamlessly into a unified whole.

Another thing. Brenda grew up in and she and Ken live in a "home." They have dogs, and kids of all ages are guests. Like such a home, the furniture she offers is the kind of furniture that's meant to be lived in, not merely looked it. It's the kind of furniture, though not new, that gets better with age and character, not particle board box store furniture that will collapse into a heap the first time a rambunctious child bumps into it.

All Gussied Up is open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays. To find out more, call (208) 255-8615, or better yet, stop in for a visit.
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