Combining a love of animals and vintage chic home décor made opening The Lazy Dog Vintage Market in Hamburg an obvious choice for Ashley and Justin Zimmerman of Auburn, Schuylkill County.
“I’ve been wanting to have my own store for my whole life,” said Justin, a 1996 graduate of Conrad Weiser High School.
Crucial to the Zimmermans’ business plan is supporting local animals in need. Customers at The Lazy Dog are not only encouraged to bring their dogs in to visit and enjoy a treat, but are also given the opportunity to donate to Marantha Farm’s Animal Sanctuary, an Orwigsburg non-profit giving lifetime care to unadoptable pets and farm animals.
“If we ever win the lottery, we’d get land and rescue animals,” Justin said, noting that he and Ashley have their own family of rescue dogs. “Dogs always get treats when they walk past the shop.”
When Justin and Ashley, a 2001 graduate of Tulpehocken High School, relocated to Florida after living for years in Hamburg and saw how popular refurbished furniture and rustic décor items were becoming down south, they decided to open a business back in Berks County.
“We decided to open up here, rather than in Florida,” Ashley said. “We were hoping for Hamburg and this shop just popped up.”
The 1,100 square-foot shop, previously home to the Bestonium print shop, recently relocated into the shuttered New Beginnings Family Fitness on State Street, required work to prepare it for the Zimmermans’ vision of a vintage market.
Stripping and repairing floors, painting, installing vendor booth walls, and setting up displays readied The Lazy Dog for about 20 vendors selling everything from shabby chic and handcrafted furniture, Fusion Mineral paint, soaps, candles, greeting cards and wall art to doggie treats and oddities such as preserved animal skulls, insects, and reptiles.
