Lindsay Ward – Offering Home Décor and More at Kim’s Countryside Marketplace
By Cindy Ladage
Lindsay Ward and her husband Justin have been into upcycling, and vintage for years. It only seemed natural for this mom of two, and a full-time worker for the State of Illinois, to take her hobby and turn it into an active business. She is making time for what she loves.
Family comes first. She and Justin have a daughter Avery who is 18 and graduating this year from Pawnee High School, and planning to attend Lincoln Land. Along with Avery, they also have a son Brady, who is 4, and is an 8th grader at Pawnee Junior High.
Enjoying the craft/vintage business is a family affair. With three unique booths, and a wall to choose from, shoppers can find almost anything they may need for their home in one of Lindsay’s curated spaces.
“I focus on home decors and all kinds of vases, knickknacks, and vintage scales and jewelry. I like glass vases, like glass apothecary jars and canisters. I always pick them up when I find them in good condition. You can do anything with glass vases,” she said about changing them out for the seasons, or using them to hold items and decorate. 
“I have plenty of color,” Lindsay added, “but I like neutrals like blue and white, and white milk glass. I have a lot of mirrors and picture frames, and I like trinket bowls, small, cute, sweet things.”
Besides this, she also has birdhouses, teapots, planters, pitchers. “I have any kind of storage containers, (a variety of baskets, took candys), pottery and a variety of brass items are also things I try to keep in stock.”
She also offers seasonal items like Easter and other holidays but has mainstays like furniture and more. “I gravitate towards items I like that I can see working in anyone’s home. I love storage books; you can use them in a living room and can always hide things in them!” 
Along with the items listed above she also has antique and vintage pictures
“I’ve been here for three years,” Lindsay said about Kim’s Countryside Market. “My husband Justin and I always talked about it.”
The mall was the Rusty Star when she first joined, since that time, Kim and Steve Bowen purchased the property in May of 2024. “They are trying to do a lot of events, there is one in the spring, the fall, and Christmas.”
When she first married, she and Justin purchased an older home in Springfield and while living there put their talents to use furbishing, upcycling, and bringing older objects to life. Lindsay’s father-in-law, the late John Ward, was a builder and built the home they currently reside in in Pawnee.
With a dad that was a builder, Lindsay shared, “Justin has always been around creative people. I too was always around this. I grew up in an older home, and I appreciate the character and charm of everything.”
So, bringing life to old objects, and the vintage/thrifting hobby came naturally to both her and her spouse. “It started out with painted furniture,” she said pointing out a few lovely examples in her space at Kim’s. Lindsay had wanted to open a booth for years but said, “I kept putting it off, but then we said, let’s just try.” 
Knowing that the booths rent from month to month, she felt like the opportunity was there without being stuck if it wasn’t something she wanted to pursue once she got started. Rather than wanting to get out of the business, she expanded, tripling her space and offerings. Assigned the #78, each of Lindsay’s spaces bear the same number.
With Justin assisting with the fixes, and some of the heavy work, Lindsay fell in love with business, and the people of Kim’s Countryside Marketplace. “Most of the people here are retired, and it’s fun, there is a lot of knowledge!”
“I love it,” she said, “I like finding treasures, and I can switch them out.”
Lindsay said she finds her products anywhere and everywhere. “I thrift buying what catches my eye. I go to flea markets, estate sales, and Justin likes to go and look too.”
When asked what aspect about the business she enjoys the most, she shared she loves hunting for goods, but most of all it is her customers, and the people she works with that are like a family.
The day of the interview, it was St. Patrick’s Day, and she cajoled her co-workers, Sharon Burnham, Lynn Burns, and Roberta Johnson to pose with her. It was just another day at the -craft mall of girls having fun! For information about Lindsay, you can reach her on 217-628-1122. Stop by and see what’s new!