Collective for crafters to open at Park and A Street

Remodeling work at the corner of Park Avenue and A Street is going on in preparation for the opening of The Collective, planned for May 1.

Vacant for several years, the old Inkley's building at Park Avenue and A Street is finally going to open back up as The Collective Artisans and Crafters Boutique, a place where crafters and artisans can show and sell their goods.

Scott and Tiffani Duff are heading the project, which will occupy 4,200 square feet of the main floor. The two have been going to craft fairs for more than five years and met a lot of people who told them they could use a place in Idaho Falls where they could sell their stuff.

"These people typically have other jobs," said Scott Duff (who himself works for the Idaho Cleanup Project). "The don't make enough or sell enough to open their own stores."

He said they toyed with the idea of a co-op like Boise's Indie Made, but opted instead to manage it themselves. "All they have to do is make their products," he said.

An Idaho Falls native, Duff said he excited to be downtown. "I've loved that building since I was a kid." He credited Kevin Cutler of Sperry Van Ness High Desert Commercial with hooking them up with the building's owners, Chad and Kari Campos.

The Campos plan to develop the upper floors of the building into residential lofts, said Cutler (who is  president of the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corp.) With a lot of downtown properties, it's easier to renovate the upstairs when someone is paying the rent downstairs, he said.

In addition to display space, there will be a classroom where vendors can teach, Duff said.

They are shooting to have the doors open to the public May 1, with a grand opening scheduled for May 10. To check on their progress, visit their Facebook page here.