Wandering Bear Antiques will open in downtown Marquette this Saturday, Sept. 5. A ribbon cutting is set for 11 a.m., to celebrate the new venture for owners Hannah Bernal and Ryan Quinn.
The two relocated to the area from the northern suburbs of Chicago, where their love of antique and vintage items originated. They even met at an antique mall where they were both vending.
“My first job as a teenager was at a thrift store, and I started reselling when I was in my teens,” recalled Hannah. “I started with clothes, and then with vintage a couple years later, and have been doing that ever since.”
“I work in IT,” added Ryan, “but at one point in time was selling Pokemon cards online and other stuff as well. Then kind of fell into vintage and thrifting. We were selling at a few different malls out in Illinois and spent weekends bopping around to different small towns, mostly in the Midwest. We, a while ago, stumbled upon Lynxville, up the river, and really liked it. When we hit a point where we were like, ‘OK, let’s look for a place where we can open a store and also live at,’ we narrowed it down to a few places.”
Marquette ultimately won out.
After Hannah discovered the property at 208 North St., “We drove out here that weekend and kind of explored the area. We’re like, ‘This really feels like the right kind of spot.’ That’s ultimately why we’re here,” Ryan said.
That journey contributed to the name “Wandering Bear.” So did the area’s history, which Ryan said references a one-time bear population and occasional visitors in the current day. Then there’s local Native American icon Emma Big Bear and the bear mounds at nearby Effigy Mounds National Monument.
“Plus, we’re from Chicago—and the Bears,” Ryan said. “We kind of stumbled on [the name] on accident.”
What should patrons expect at Wandering Bear Antiques? Hannah gravitates toward mid-century glass—bright colors and dramatic shapes—while Ryan likes self-described “different, weirder stuff.”
“I like pottery specifically, and have a habit of picking up weird wood statues. So you’ll see a lot of weird carved face kind of stuff. Some oddities,” he shared.
There will be a variety of other items, too.
“Overall, we want to have a good selection. Not just our personal interests, but things we find along the way that are interesting and fun,” Hannah said.
The couple discovers new pieces everywhere from other antique malls and thrift stores to garage and estate sales, flea markets and online auctions.
That’s the fun part, said Ryan.
“I think what ultimately drove us more into it is the finding. Because it’s kind of like a scavenger hunt,” he noted.
They are excited to display items at the property, which was built around an 1800s ice box, and has unique interior elements.
“That’s a really cool feature in the property. Then you get all the stone and the brick,” Hannah said.
Viewers of Hannah’s Instagram live sales have even commented it looks like she’s in a castle.
Wandering Bear Antiques will be open seven days a week: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, then 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The shop will operate year-round and items will change up often, said Hannah and Ryan.
They look forward to learning about the new market.
“At the antique malls we were selling at back home, we kind of had an idea as to what the local people liked and what was popular. So we’re looking forward to that. We’ve kind of been placing bets between ourselves as to what items we think will sell first or what people will like, what will resonate,” Ryan said.
They also look forward to learning more about the area.
After coming from Chicago, “it’s a lot different than what we’re used to, being in a space that’s got a lot less people,” acknowledged Hannah, “but we really enjoy it.”
“When we were bopping around on the weekends, it always felt like the smaller towns, the smaller areas we ended up in, were more us anyway,” Ryan added. “And everyone’s been super nice that we’ve met.”
To learn more, follow “Wandering Bear Antiques” on Facebook and Instagram, or visit wanderingbearantiques.com.
